Floral Care Tips
The joy of flowers is fleeting by design. The impermanence of floral arrangements deepens their impact and speaks directly to the changes central to our lives. Even so, with a little attention and some minor care, your floral arrangements can last longer to brighten even more of your days.
To maximize your purchase from Penny + Clover, we have several care tips and best practices that will keep your flowers fresh, sparkling, and joyous to behold!
First let’s talk about what your flowers need.
When it arrives at your door after shipping or same-day delivery in metro Detroit, your floral arrangement is still alive. But without proper care and best practices, your bouquet may not remain as alive as it can be for as long you’d like. To maximize the joy you receive from your floral arrangements, we recommend some or all of these best practices:
When it arrives at your door after shipping or same-day delivery in metro Detroit, your floral arrangement is still alive. But without proper care and best practices, your bouquet may not remain as alive as it can be for as long you’d like. To maximize the joy you receive from your floral arrangements, we recommend some or all of these best practices:
After you’ve given your arrangement everything fundamental that it needs, you can further extend both the shelf life and luster of your bouquet by providing it with certain nutrients and additives. So-called “flower food” comes in many varieties—some pre-made and others homemade.
The basic recipe for “flower food” consists of water, lemon juice, sugar, and bleach. Other novel ingredients include hair spray, old coins, and a few other oddball ingredients. You can find plenty of tried-and-true recipes online, so try your hand at nourishing your arrangement and see how long you can make it last!
Sitting in standing water takes a toll on each stem. Over time, that vase water soaks into the stems, damaging the plant and limiting its ability to absorb the moisture it needs. When you change the water in your vase every 2-3 days (as recommended), or daily if you’re going for the record, it helps to trim the stems a little so that each one is able to absorb the water it needs.
Trimming stems is best accomplished with a super sharp knife and by cutting at a slight angle. This exposes more of the stem’s fresh cells which, in turn, are ready and eager to suck up the water they need to go on being brilliant!
Because your flowers are still alive, they’re still taking in information from their surroundings. Direct sunlight encourages flowers to bloom wide open, using vital nutrients and other resources as they do so. Direct sunlight, therefore, accelerates the decomposition of fresh-cut flowers, limiting your enjoyment of them.
Furthermore, excess heat from a nearby radiator or other home fixture could encourage premature wilting and decay. Similarly, keeping your arrangement too near other decaying/rotting biological materials (such as fruit in a bowl) could expose them to molds, mildews, and other agents of decomposition.
Keep your flowers cool and fresh for maximum shelf life.
With proper care and best practices, your bouquet could last anywhere between 3 days or two weeks on average. Every flower is different, to say nothing of floral arrangements containing several kinds of flowers.
With indirect sunlight, fresh water, trimmed stems, flower food, a clean vase, and a fresh place to sit without any rotting organic material nearby, your bouquet could bring you happiness for upwards of half a month. In the end, it’s mostly down to luck and care!
If you’re looking for longer-lasting flowers, check out our dried and preserved Forever Flowers.
At Penny + Clover, our resident floral artist and bud whisperer is Mary. Mary is a former teacher who, together with her husband Jason, received a startling cancer diagnosis and decided that life was too short to spend doing something she only half enjoyed.
Mary and Jason founded Penny + Clover so that they could add a little more beauty to your every day.
Thanks to the nature of our product, we ship fast and furiously to maximize your time with your flowers. Your order should be at your door (or the door of that special someone) within just a few days. If you live in the metro Detroit area, we can arrange for same-day delivery through DoorDash.
You can also discover one of our Penny + Clover vending machines nearby by finding a location nearest you on our vending page.
Our bulk flowers can handle events of any size or significance, but the ultimate amount of flowers required comes down to how many tables/guests you’re expecting. If you’re looking to roll up your sleeves for a little DIY flower arrangement, it’s important to determine which flowers you’d like to work with first.
After determining which flowers you prefer, you might want to look at examples of arrangements online. Some flowers work best in pairs or in threes, while others pop more when 4-5 of them are placed in an arrangement. At the end of the day, though, it’s your event! We’re just lucky to be a part of it!
Our Forever Flowers are dried and preserved to maximize the joy you get from them. By drying your Forever Flowers, we’re preventing moisture from attracting bacteria which accelerates decay. Despite our best efforts, however, there is moisture in the air we breathe and inside our homes from other sources.
If properly cared for, your Forever Flowers could last years and years. Placed next to a sink, directly in front of a window, or in a high-traffic area where they could be bumped or jostled on a daily basis, they’re bound to crumble and degrade. Keep your forever flower somewhere dry and cool to give it an even better chance of lasting “forever.”
We’re absolutely thrilled that you’re considering one of our cutting-edge vending machines for your location. To learn more about what our vending machines can do for you, head on over to our Vending Opportunities page or contact us.
We’d be thrilled to welcome you into the Penny + Clover family!