Flower Care Guide
How to care for your Salted stem blooms
Prolong the Beauty
At The Salted Stem, we source the highest quality roses from Ecuador and luxury blooms from around the world. Because flowers are living things, they need a little love to last. Follow these guides to get the maximum vase life out of your arrangement or DIY stems.
The Golden Rules (Universal Care)
Applies to all fresh arrangements and subscriptions.
- Fresh Water Daily: The water in your vase should be clear enough to drink. If it looks cloudy, bacteria is growing (which clogs the stems). Change the water and scrub the vase daily.
- The 45° Cut: Every time you change the water, trim 1/2 inch off the stems at a 45-degree angle. This re-opens the drinking channels.
- Keep it Cool: Flowers love the A/C, but they hate drafts. Keep them away from direct vents, ceiling fans, and direct sunlight.
- No Fruit: Keep flowers away from your fruit bowl. Ripening fruit releases ethylene gas, which tells flowers to age and drop their petals faster.
Event & Holding Flower Care
For Weddings, Proms, and Recitals.
Bridal & Bridesmaid Bouquets:
- Until the Ceremony: Keep bouquets in a vase with about 1 inch of water to keep the stem ends hydrating. Keep the ribbon dry.
- Holding them: When holding the bouquet for photos, hold it low (at belly button height) and tilt the blooms forward toward the camera.
Boutonnieres & Corsages:
- Storage: These have no water source. Keep them in their clear plastic box in the refrigerator (not the freezer!) until the moment you need to put them on. The cold keeps them crisp.
- Hydrangeas in bouquets: If your event is outdoors in the heat, hydrate the bouquet until the very last second.
Specific tips for your DIY Stems and Bunches.
stem care directory
(Includes: Freedom, Quicksand, Playa Blanca, Black Baccara, etc.)
- Guard Petals: You may notice the outer 2-3 petals look slightly green or bruised. These are "Guard Petals"—nature's bubble wrap. We leave them on to protect the bloom during shipping. Gently pinch and peel them off to reveal the perfect cup shape underneath.
- Hydration: Roses are thirsty. Fill the vase 3/4 full.
- Revival: If a rose head droops ("bent neck"), submerge the entire rose (head and all) in a sink of cool water for 30 minutes, then re-cut the stem.
They drink from the top: Hydrangeas absorb water through their petals. Mist the flower heads daily with a spray bottle.
The Wilt Fix: If a head goes floppy, dip the cut stem into boiling water for 30 seconds, or dip it in Alum powder (found in the spice aisle), then place back in fresh cold water.
They keep growing: Tulips will continue to grow taller in the vase and will bend toward the light. This is part of their charm!
Water Level: Keep water shallow (2-3 inches) to prevent the soft stems from turning to mush.
Daffodil Warning: Do not put fresh-cut Daffodils in a vase with other flowers immediately. Their sap is toxic to other blooms. Let them sit in water alone for 6 hours first.
Humidity: These native Florida favorites love humidity. Mist them regularly.
Temperature: Unlike roses, tropicals hate the cold. Do not put them in the fridge. Keep them in a warm (but not hot) room.
Tight Buds: We often ship these in "golf ball" stage so you get to watch them open.
Opening them: To encourage a Peony to open faster, wash the sticky sap off the bud with warm water and place in a warm spot.
Pollen: As the bloom opens, remove the orange pollen anthers in the center immediately. If they fall, they will stain the flower petals (and your clothes/tablecloths) permanently.
Fragrance: Oriental lilies are highly fragrant; Asiatic lilies are unscented.
Clean Stems: Ensure zero leaves are below the water line. Leaves rotting in water create bacteria that will kill the rest of your expensive flowers instantly.
Longevity: These are the marathon runners of the floral world and will often outlast your blooms. Feel free to compost the dead flowers and keep a vase of just greenery!