How to Harvest, Condition, and Care for Cut Flowers

Bring garden flowers indoors for bouquets in spring, summer, and fall. No experience needed.

When you cut flowers from your own garden, condition them to ensure they stay fresh, colorful, and vibrant for as long as possible.

Harvest & Conditioning  |  Care  |  Good Species from the Garden for Cut Flowers  |  More Information

Harvesting and Conditioning Cut Flowers

Use these tips to get the most out of flowers harvested from your garden.

Keep it Sharp & Clean

Use a sharp, clean knife or shears when cutting flowers.  You want to cut the stems cleanly without crushing them.

Harvest at the Right Time

Cut flowers at the proper stage of development and when they are most turgid (fully hydrated).  The appropriate time to cut flowers depends on the species.  Some flowers should be cut in the bud stage, while others should be fully open.  Flowers are most turgid in the morning before the heat and stress of the day.  Harvest early in the morning – near sunrise – for best blooms.

Get Them in Water.....Fast!

Place the flowers in water as quickly as possible.  When cutting flowers from your garden take a vase or bucket of water with you.  The faster the stems are hydrated, the longer they will last.

Store in Cool Place

Keeping blooms as cool as possible (without freezing) will extend their vase life.  If they will not be displayed right away, store cut flowers in temperatures between 40° and 60°F.  If it will be more than a day or two, 33° to 35°F is the ideal temperature for longer-term storage.  A refrigerator works well for short-term storage of many cut flowers.

Some Species Need Special Care

Certain plant species involve special treatment.  Stems that exude a milky sap, may need to be singed or burned slightly to prevent excess sap loss.  Simply hold the cut end over a candle flame for a few seconds until the flow of sap stops.  

Stems of woody plants like lilac may need to be cut twice to ensure adequate water uptake.  After removing the stem from the plant, cut the bottom inch of the stem again, crosswise this time, prior to placing it in the vase.

Care of Cut Flowers

Use a Floral Preservative

Purchase a floral preservative from a florist or garden center.  Floral preservatives are designed to help keep the water clean, provide carbohydrates to the developing flowers, and generally extend the vase-life of almost all flowers.  Sugar, aspirin, tea, pennies, rusty nails, bleach, citric acid, and other ingredients do not work as well as a floral preservative.  In fact, some of these materials can shorten the vase life of cut flowers.  

If you don't have a floral preservative – skip it – clean water without additives is second best.

Keep the Foliage Out of the Water

Remove the lower leaves on flower stems.  Leaves that are submerged in water will rot and quickly discolor the water.  This means you will need to change the water more frequently.

Use a Clean Vase

Arrange the flowers as you see fit in a sturdy, clean vase.  Make sure all flower stems have access to water.  Almost anything will suffice as a vase, as long as it holds enough water to keep stems under water for several days.

Check & Change the Water Regularly 

Change the water as needed.  When the water level gets low or it starts to get cloudy, dump it out and replace with clean, fresh water.  More floral preservative will be needed when you replace the water.  

No need to recut stems as long as you are reasonably quick.  Re-cutting stems under water is ideal, but sometimes difficult to manage – especially after you have already arranged the flowers in the vase.

Species in the Garden That Make Good Cut Flowers

There are many flowers in the home garden that also make excellent cut flowers. With a few notable exceptions (like hosta and lily-of-the-valley) most species grown for cut flowers prefer full sun and well-drained soils.

Perennials  |  Annuals & Tender Perennials  |  Woody Plants  |  Foliage

Perennials

Annuals & Tender Perennials

Woody Plants

Plants with Good Foliage to Use in Cut Flower Arrangements

More Information

• How to Care for Cut Flowers
• Growing and Selling Cut Flowers in Iowa
• Flowers and Their Meanings: The Language of Flowers