A bouquet that should last ten days often gives up in four. In Nairobi that is usually not the flowers’ fault — it is the environment. We sit at roughly 1,800 metres, the sun is direct, the air is dry for much of the year, and afternoon temperatures indoors climb higher than people realise.
Here is what actually makes a difference, in rough order of importance.
1. Cut the stems, at an angle, before they go in water
This is the one that matters most and the one most often skipped. Take two to three centimetres off the bottom of each stem with a sharp knife or scissors, at roughly 45 degrees.
Two reasons. Stems seal themselves and draw air into the channels that carry water, and a blocked stem cannot drink no matter how full the vase is. The angle stops the cut end sitting flat on the bottom of the vase, which does the same thing.
Do it under running water if you can, and get them into the vase within a minute.
2. Change the water every two days. Every day if you can
Cloudy water is bacteria, and bacteria block stems. In Nairobi’s warmth, water that looked clean yesterday can be cloudy by this afternoon.
Do not top the vase up — empty it, rinse it, refill it. Re-trim a centimetre off the stems each time you do. This single habit is the difference between a bouquet that lasts five days and one that lasts twelve.
3. Strip every leaf that sits below the waterline
Leaves underwater rot within a day, and rotting leaves feed the bacteria in point two. Strip the lower stems bare before arranging. It also makes the arrangement look cleaner.
4. Keep them out of direct sun — and away from the window
The instinct is to put flowers where the light is good. That is the worst spot in the house. Nairobi’s midday sun through glass will cook a bouquet in an afternoon, and a sunny windowsill can be ten degrees hotter than the room.
Cool, bright, indirect light. A hallway table, a shelf away from the window, a room that stays shaded in the afternoon. If you want them on display for a dinner, move them there for the evening and move them back.
5. Keep them away from the fruit bowl
This one surprises people. Ripening fruit releases ethylene gas, which tells flowers to age. Bananas and avocados are the worst offenders, and a bowl of them next to a vase can shorten a bouquet’s life by days.
Same principle applies to a spot above a fridge, near a cooker, or in the path of a fan.
6. Use the flower food, and use it properly
The sachet that comes with the flowers is not a token. It contains sugar to feed the stems, an acidifier to help water move up them, and a mild biocide to slow bacteria.
Mix it into the full volume of water, not a splash. If you have run out, a teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of household bleach per litre does a surprisingly similar job. Skip the aspirin and the copper coin — neither survives contact with evidence.
7. Remove flowers as they fade
A dying bloom releases ethylene and accelerates everything around it. Pull it out. A ten-stem bouquet reduced to six good stems in a smaller vase looks intentional and buys you another few days; the same bouquet with four collapsing heads in it looks finished.
Flower by flower
- Roses. If a head droops at the neck, it is an air lock. Re-cut the stem under water and submerge the whole rose in a basin for twenty minutes — they often come back.
- Lilies. Pinch out the orange anthers when the buds open. The pollen stains fabric permanently and the flower lasts longer without it.
- Sunflowers. Heavy drinkers. Check the water level daily, not every second day.
- Chrysanthemums and carnations. The most forgiving flowers in the shop. Two weeks is normal with basic care.
- Tulips. They keep growing in the vase and bend toward light. Rotate the vase daily if you want them upright.
What to expect, realistically
With the above: roses seven to ten days, chrysanthemums and carnations up to two weeks, lilies a week to ten days with new buds opening as older ones fade, tulips five to seven days.
Without it, halve all of those. The gap between a bouquet that lasts four days and one that lasts twelve is about five minutes of work spread over the week.
Browse our fresh flowers — every arrangement goes out with care instructions and flower food.