Caring for Flowers

There are a lot of myths and old wives tales about caring for cut flowers.....

Add sugar/lemonade to the vase water

A lot of people believe that sugar is great flower food, but it isn't. The same goes for lemonade. It's only an extra source of bacteria which you want your flowers to stay away from. Just stick with cut flower food provided with your bouquet. This contains every nutrient that your flowers need.

Add bleach

Although bleach stops the growth of bacteria and helps with damaged stems people generally use too much of it. Only a tiny drop is enough but it's best to stay away from bleach. The flower food provided with your bouquet contains enough to help keep any bacteria at bay.

Bash the stems with a hammer

I cringe whenever I hear this one. This is 100% a myth and a definite no no. By bashing the stems you are actually damaging the stem cells which prevents the flowers from absorbing all the nutrients and water. What you should do with all flowers is use a very sharp knife or scissors and cut the stems at a sharp angle thereby increasing the surface area which helps the flower drink.

Place the flowers in the sun

We all love a bit of sun and warmth. Me in particular! Flowers do too but placing them in sun speeds up the opening time of the flowers which shortens their vase life. Flowers kept in the cool last a lot lot longer. My closest friend keeps her flowers in the front hall and they last at least a month. And I've known customers place the flowers outside in the porch over night and bring them in again during the day. Just not recommended if there is frost in the air!

Remove all the leaves/thorns

This is partially true. It's best to remove all leaves that would end up below the water line in a vase. By doing this you will prevent rotting and extra bacteria in the water. But keep the rest of the leaves and thorns on. The leaves will improve the water uptake and make your bouquet look nicer (with the exception of contemporary designs). If you cut off the thorns you create little wounds which will contaminate the vase water.

Add a penny to the vase of water

Copper does have anti-bacterial properties but copper pennies don't dissolve in water. So adding pennies to the water does not have any positive effects on the vase life of the flowers. Because pennies and other coins contain a lot of bacteria it will actually have a negative effect on the vase life.

Flowers With Passion's care tips

1. Our bouquets generally come in a bubble of water in a box. You can keep your bouquet in the presentation box if you wish but we would recommend only for a couple of days. By then the water level could be very low and it will need replacing with clean fresh water.

2. Use the cut flower food provided with your bouquet. Our sachets contain enough for 1 litre of water. Use a clean vase and clean tap water.

3. Remove the flowers from the box and hold over a sink while you remove the bubble of water. You can keep the rest of the packaging if you wish but we would recommend you remove this too to allow the flowers to breath and air to circulate.

4. Re-cut the stems with a sharp knife or sharp pair of scissors. Cut the stems on an angle. By using blunt scissors you will actually be strangling your flowers! This is because you will be blocking their cells and uptake of water will be restricted.

5. Completely change the water every couple of days and add more flower food. If you don't have any spare in your cupboard please call into the shop and we'll give you more. We care about our flowers!

6. Keep the flowers away from the fruit bowl. Ethylene gas is released by fruit, especially bananas, which in turn ages your flowers at a faster rate.

If you follow these easy rules you should be able to enjoy your flowers for a week or two. Sometimes more!

Calla Lily - May's flower of the month


The Calla used to go by the impressive name of the Ethiopian arum lily. It originates from an area extending from South Africa to Malawi, where it grows in swamps. The areas where it grows are alternately marshy and dry. This means that the Calla is not only beautiful, but also strong.

Colours and shapes of the Calla

The Calla offers plenty of choice when it comes to colour. The flower comes in white, red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, green, black and bi-coloured. The most noticeable aspect of the Calla is the beautifully shaped spathe. This spathe is actually a petal, and emerges serenely and majestically from the stem. It's a kind of wrap that slowly opens up until you can look deep into the heart of the plant. The actual flowers are very small and are located on the elongated spadix in the centre of the spathe.

Care tips

• Hold the flowers by the stem and trim the stems diagonally.

• Place the Callas in a clean vase with clean water.

• Add cut flower food to the water.

• Regularly trim the stems a little, and remove any stems that have become slimy.

• Don't place your flowers in a draught, in direct sunlight or near a source of heat.

• Don't place your flowers near the fruit bowl. Fruit naturally emits ethylene gas, which causes flowers to age rapidly.

Calla symbolism

The Calla has various symbolic meanings. It is considered a flower of purity and sympathy, and represents beauty. The Calla is also considered a lucky flower. This dates from the Greek and Roman period. They associated the flower with festivities and enjoyment, because the shape of the bloom resembles a goblet used for drinking. Although many centuries have passed since then, the Calla has always retained this meaning. 




Tulips - January's flower of the month


National Tulip Day is on January 21st and there is a special event in Dam Square, Amsterdam.

From Turkish turban to Amsterdam canal-side house

You’d think you can hardly get anything more Dutch, but the tulip is actually pure Iranian, pure Afghan and pure Kazakh. Nomads brought the colourful flowers to Turkey, where manly sultans started wearing a tulip on their turban. That’s how the flower got its name: ‘tulipan’ means ‘turban’.


The ever-cheerful tulip comes in white, red, yellow, pink, purple, orange, green or with multi-coloured petals. The shapes of the tulip are also a feast for the eye. You can find them with a single or double row of petals, whilst there are also eye-catching fringed and parrot tulips with serrated petals, and there’s the playful lily-flowered tulip. Peony tulips look like peonies, and French tulips are exceptionally tall (unlike the average French mademoiselle) and have very large flowers


If you gave someone a tulip in the sixteenth century, you were giving them a fortune. At that time the flower was incredibly popular and a speculative trade in tulip bulbs developed. You could buy a whole canal-side house in Amsterdam for the price of one tulip bulb in those days. A nice bunch of tulips now costs just a couple of pounds, but the symbolism has gained in value. If you give someone tulips, you’re also giving them a message. Hence red tulips mean passionate love, and with black tulips you’re saying: ‘I love you so much I will sacrifice everything for you.’ So don’t give those to just anybody.


Tulips can be found growing wild from north Africa and southern Europe across to north-west China. The greatest diversity can be found in three mountain ranges in central Asia: the Pamirs, the Tian Shan and the Hindu Kush. With cold winters, long springs with cold nights and a dry summer, the climate here is ideal for tulips. Tulips need a cold night and a cold winter in order to be able to grow, which is why they can’t be cultivated in a warm climate.


You can enjoy your turban flowers for five to twelve days by following these care tips:

·       Select a clean vase that is tall enough: tulips will continue to grow another few centimetres.

·       Add cut flower food to the water for a longer vase life.

·       Wrap the tulips in the vase in paper or film for an hour first. The tulips will then fill themselves with water and straighten up.

·       Use tap water at room temperature.

·       Trim the stems diagonally with a clean, sharp knife or secateurs.

·       Place the vase in a cool spot out of the sun and away from the fruit bowl.

·       Tulips are heavy drinkers, so top the vase up with tap water regularly.


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