‘Bizarre’ Place You Should Keep Easter Flowers Overnight To Prevent Drooping

Easter is one of the biggest occasions for floral gifting- in fact, it’s estimated that Easter and Passover account for around 9% of all holiday flower purchases1.

If you’ve been lucky enough to receive a beautiful bouquet of blooms, you’ll know how frustrating it can be when they start to wilt prematurely. To delay this an expert has shared their genius hack to keep them fresh for as long as possible.

Amy Greenshields at cardfactory, has shared how she extends the life of flowers, including the ‘bizarre’ place you should keep them overnight…

When looking to keep cut flowers fresh, we all know that it’s important to regularly change their water, keep vases clean, feed them every few days and regularly remove any dead stems - but the make or break factor to how long your blooms will stay looking fresh all comes down to where you keep them in your home.

The secret to long-lasting blooms is to slow down the ageing process as much as possible. One easy way to do this is by keeping your flowers at a cool temperature. Cooler temperatures slow down the metabolic processes that contribute to the ageing of flowers, as well as reducing their rate of water loss - vital for keeping them looking fresher for longer.

If you’re looking to maximise the vase life of your flowers, try keeping them in your garage overnight - or, if space allows, your fridge. The cold temperatures will help your flowers to maintain their vibrant colours and structural integrity for a longer time.

Avoid direct sunlight, heat sources and fruit

When it comes to where you should avoid placing your bouquet, Amy shares some common places that can cause premature wilting.

Whilst a bouquet may look lovely on display on your windowsill, we would never advise placing your flowers anywhere which may receive direct sunlight. Not only can the flowers get dehydrated, accelerating their deterioration, but some delicate blooms may even experience discolouration of their petals.

Similarly, any artificial sources of heat should be avoided. Keep flowers away from radiators to prevent dehydration and premature ageing. Even heat generated from electronic devices and appliances such as TVs and microwaves, can cause flowers to wilt faster.

But it’s not only dehydration you have to watch out for, Amy says you should never place your flowers near your fruit bowl. This is a really common pitfall - but it's one that few people realise the potential damages of.

The reason cut flowers droop is often caused by an overproduction of the growth hormone ethylene.

Common fruits such as bananas and apples produce high levels of ethylene which, being a gaseous hormone, can influence the ageing process of plants nearby. Keeping your flowers close to these fruits may accelerate wilting and cause petals to drop.

Which flowers last the longest?

Some flowers are inherently more durable and long-lasting than others.

If you’re looking for long-lasting blooms, you should generally choose flowers that have sturdy stems and thick petals. For example, chrysanthemums, lilies and alstroemerias are known for being hardy and resilient, and more often than not achieve a vase life of 2 weeks or more.

Browse cardfactory’s full collection of flowers & potted plant gifts and order here