The name hydrangea comes from the Greek “hydor,” meaning water, and “angos,” meaning jar or vessel. Translation: water barrel! These gorgeous pom-pom-like flowers need water, and when they don’t get it, they will wilt.
There are a few tricks to keeping your Hydrangeas looking fabulous for longer in your vase at home.
From market to home
After purchasing you must take your flowers straight home. If driving a distance you must always put them in a bucket of water.
Cut off the stems at an angle
Farmgate Flowers Hydrangeas have very strong, long, and thick woody stems because they are grown in cooler climates. They look fabulous but because the stems are quite woody they also need extra help drinking water. Once you unwrap them, snip about 3cm of the stem off at a 45 degree angle. This increases the area for water absorption.
Cut vertically up the stems (up the middle)
When you receive your bunch you will notice that the stems have been cut / split vertically up the middle of the stem at least 3cm as well. This will split the stem into quarters. This ensures that the water can flow more freely up to the flower head. You can simply do this again once you have re-cut the 45-degree angle. We suggest you do this with a knife - it is a little easier than using scissors and the cut is sharper.
We plunge the flower heads into the water
We always plunge the flower heads into water before we sell them so the petals remain hydrated. We do this in buckets, however, you can simply place them in a vase in your kitchen sink or laundry sink and spray water over them. I would encourage you to spray them with a fine mist every morning while in their vase. They will turn from looking sad and a little wilted to being plump and full of life in no time at all. But you do have to hydrate them before they start wilting too much. If you catch them at the early stage of wilting - it is amazing how they can bounce back!
ANOTHER TRICK
If your Hydrangeas look like they are wilting quite a lot you can even try the BOIL TREATMENT.
- Bring a kettle or pot of water to a boil and set aside to cool slightly.
- It should still be very hot.
- Pour the water into a vessel (like a vase)
- Cut their stems at a 45-degree angle again. Also, slit up the stem as mentioned above
- Place the wilted Hydrangeas into this vase filled with hot water.
- Let sit for a minimum of one hour.
- Some people even do this with a loose bag over the top, but ensure there is a hole in the top to allow some vapour to escape.
Keep the leaves out of the water
As with all flower arrangements or posies, ensure no leaves are touching the water in the vase. This can cause bacterial growth and accelerate wilting.
Good luck and we always love to receive feedback on how you go.