It can be pretty challenging to care for fresh cut hydrangeas especially for us who live in the tropical weather.

Freshly cut hydrangeas from your local flower shop are prone to wilting very quickly once it is taken out from the florist’s cooler.

Here’s a guide that I have experimented that can help you lengthen the vase life of a freshly cut hydrangeas.

You will need:
A hydrangea (duh!)
A bucket of cold water
A floral shear or knife
A sewing needle
2 packet of flower food
Your favorite vase

Step 1: Upon arriving your house from the flower shop, prepare a bucket of cold water. You can add ice cubes in the water if your tap water is warm. (Remember: Hydrangeas love cold weather)

Step 2: Open a packet of flower food and pour the flower food into the bucket of cold water.

Step 3: Unwrap hydrangea from its wrapping paper. Some florists will attach a mini water pod at the bottom of the hydrangea’s stem to ensure its freshness. You can remove this water pod by cutting the stem using a knife or floral shear at a 45 degree angle.

Step 4: Hydrangea has woody stem, thus, its water absorption ability is poor compared to other fresh flowers. To counter this problem, use a tiny sewing needle to pierce a few strategic holes into the hydrangea’s stem. This is to ensure that the flowers will able to absorb water at a faster rate and keep the hydrangea’s blooms hydrated at all times.

Step 5: Place the hydrangea into the bucket of ice-cold water. The water level in the bucket should cover the whole length of the hydrangea’s stem. Soak the hydrangea’s stem for 4-6 hours or preferably overnight prior to using the flowers.

Step 6: Fill your favorite vase with clean water (preferably cold) and flower food.

Step 7: Arrange the pre-conditioned hydrangeas in your favorite vase and enjoy the blooms.

Step 8: Cut the hydrangea’s stem every 2-3 days to ensure that the bottom of the stem is not blocked by any naturally occurring substance or air. These substances will prevent water from reaching the blooms.

Also, a general rule of thumb in lengthening the life of cut flowers is never to expose them under direct sunlight and avoid blowing them directly with a fan.

Here’s a benchmark: A properly cared-for and pre-conditioned hydrangea can lasts up to 7-12 days at normal room temperature here in Malaysia.

Lilies are one of the more popular flowers around here in Malaysia. There are many types of lilies. From the more commonly available ones such as the Stargazer lilies, Casablanca lilies, and Madonna Lilies to the rarer imported ones such as the Peruvian lilies, Sumatra lilies, African Queen lilies, and Maywood lilies. Despite the vast varieties of lilies, the care for fresh cut lilies, such as those you get from your local florists is rather similar.

The picture above shows a full bloom Casablanca Lily with its stamen intact. As you can see, all the stamens have already been pollinated. These pollens, if not removed, will stain the lily petals, your table tops, hands, or clothings. Thus, it is essential for you to remove all the stamens once the lily bud begins to bloom.

The best time to remove the stamens from the lily is when the lily bud is half-bloomed and the stamens are yet to be pollinated. You can easily pull off the stamens with your fingers. However, you would need a scissors to remove the pollinated stamens if the lily has fully bloomed (like the one in the picture).

This picture is solely for illustration purpose only. Please use a pair of scissors if you do not want to get nasty pollen stains on your hand or your surroundings. =)

A “cleaned” Casablanca Lily. (Notice there’s some pollen stains on the lily petals?)

Some lilies can have more than one bud on each stem. The timing and blooming process for each bud in a stem varies. One flower may wither earlier before the other buds have bloomed. If this is the case, simply cut the wilted flower off and allow the other buds to bloom.

Pin wrote a simple tutorial on his roses arrangement a few days ago, which prompted me to share with you about “guard petals” on roses. There seems to be a huge misunderstanding on these guard petals.

Many of my customers dislike guard petals and thought that roses with guard petals aren’t fresh. For the past 2 decades, I have received numerous complaints from our customers accusing us of selling wilting roses whenever they encountered these suspicious-looking guard petals around the roses.

Even today, many still doubt the freshness of a rose if it has guard petals on it. Now, it’s time for me to share with you the truth behind these guard petals.

All roses that grow from this planet come with guard petals, no exception. These are the outer layer petals that need to be removed from the roses prior to “using” them. The role of guard petal is to protect the rose buds from bruising during the entire harvesting process at the rose farms to handling of the roses at your local florists. Thus, it is essential for these guard petals to stay intact to ensure that the roses get all the protection it needs.

Guard petals often appeared charred and wrinkled at most edges of the petals, especially for red roses. Depending on the colors, most roses are normally accompanied by charred and wrinkled dark brown, black, or green guard petals.

1. A red rose with guard petals intact.

2. Removing the guard petals

3. Ready to use rose with all guard petals removed. (Notice the contrasting white tip from the removed guard petal? That is also a sign of freshness.)

One more useful tip on these guard petals: You can actually determine the freshness of a rose just by peeling off a guard petal.

If the rose is fresh, you’ll be able to peel off the petal easily and it (the peeling) comes with a crisp sound. A not-so-fresh rose would have guard petals that appear to be crumpled and softened. When you try to peel it off, the peeling won’t produce any cracking sound at all.

That being said, you might want to practice some TLC while peeling off the guard petals less you accidentally peel off the real petals of a blooming rose.

Below is a very simple and clear step by step guide provided by realsimple.com for beginners on how you can arrange your cut flowers in any vase. For those of you who do not have a vase available at home, do not fret. You can substitute the vase with any empty jars or empty wine bottles available in your kitchen cabinets.

Photo by Natasha Milne

Step 1: Fill the vase with cool tap water, says Emily Weaver, owner of New York City floral design studio Chestnuts in the Tuileries. (Warm water can force unopened buds to bloom too quickly.)

Step 2: Measure the flower against the height of the vase and decide where to snip.

Step 3: Lay stems on a cutting board and, with a kitchen knife, cut on an angle, which exposes the stem to more water. If you prefer, use floral shears instead of a knife.

Step 4: Bind the flowers with a clear-colored elastic and trim any too-long stems. Finally, place the flowers in the vase.

Do take some pictures of your flowers and send them to me once you’ve tried the steps above. Let me know how it works for you. Have fun arranging your blooms and have a great weekend!

Did you know that the hibiscus is also known as the rosemallow? Even though it has no relation with the rose family. In some places, it’s also known as the “Rose of Althea” or “Rose of Sharon”.

The hibiscus also happens to be Malaysia’s national flower due to the fact that hibiscus are available throughout the entire country. It’s also due to the commonness of the hibiscus in our surroundings that you don’t see many Malaysian men sending their girlfriends hibiscus stalks.

With the best of intentions, sending the girl a stalk of hibiscus would seem a very “stingy” thing to do. Though you could have meant it “from the bottom of your heart”, it could be interpreted as “from the depths of your pockets”. Hence, it would be a better idea to leave hibiscus out of the game of courtships, and use these lovely hibiscus as ornaments instead.

Here’s a picture I took in Cameron Highlands, where these hibiscus grew in the lush greeneries, alongside the vast plantations of tea leaves.

Apart from colors, the number of roses that you give is also important as there are special meanings associated with it. Find out how many roses you should give to express your deepest feelings perfectly!

1 Rose = You are the one, love at first sight (or I am on a tight budget)

2 Roses = Mutual love and feelings, a commitment

3 Roses = I love you

5 Roses = I love you very much

6 Roses = I will always love you, baby

7 Roses = You drive me crazy!

9 Roses = Eternal love

10 Roses = I wanna be with you

11 Roses = You are my most treasured one

12 Roses = Please be mine (it’s really cheaper to buy a dozen)

13 Roses = Friendship forever (be careful, unless you really mean it)

15 Roses = I am sorry (there’s a very high chance that all 15 roses are returned to sender)

24 Roses = You’re always on my mind

25 Roses = Congratulations darling, I am so proud of you!

26 Roses = You complete me forever!

36 Roses = Every moment spent with you is the moment I treasure

50 Roses = Unconditional love

99 Roses = I will love you forever ‘til eternity (or I am short of money for another rose)

100 Roses = You are my true love

101 Roses = You are my one and only (or if she loves Dalmatians)

108 Roses = Marry me, my love! (Don’t send this on your first date!)

365 Roses = Everyday I love you (Not applicable for leap years :-P)

999 Roses = Undying love (Or a sign of financial abundance)

Undoubtedly, roses are one of the most enduring symbols of love and appreciation. Giving roses to your loved ones are always the best way to put a smile on their face. However, each rose color has its own special significance and also holds many different meanings. Giving the right rose color conveys your intended message more clearly and makes your bouquet more meaningful. Express your innermost feelings with the right color of roses now and find out what each color represents.

Red Roses
Red roses symbolize love, passion, and desire. It means “I love you” and is the traditional symbol of romantic love. Other meanings of red roses include respect, courage, beauty, and sincerity. Additionally, red roses also say “Well done!” and “Congratulations”.

Pink Roses
Generally, pink roses signify grace, happiness, and elegance. It is often given as an expression of admiration and also expresses appreciation and gratitude. Light pink roses connote happiness and fun, while deep pink roses say “Thank you”.

Yellow Roses
Contrary to popular Asian beliefs, yellow roses do not represent jealousy. Yellow roses symbolize joy, freedom, and friendship. They can also represent a new beginning. Yellow roses are most commonly known as friendship roses.

White Roses
White roses symbolize purity, innocence, truth, honor, and reverence. They also represent youthfulness and charm. White roses are also associated with marriage and new beginnings and often used as an expression or remembrance.

Peach Roses
Similar to pink roses, peach roses suggest appreciation, admiration, and gratitude. Peach roses also convey sympathy, while a pale peach rose symbolizes modesty.

Orange or Coral Roses
Orange roses represent desire, fascination, and enthusiasm. It often symbolizes an expression of keen and passionate romance. Orange roses are the perfect choice if you wish to pursue a new relationship further.

Lavender or Lilac Roses
Lavender or lilac roses represent love at first sight, enchantment, deep adoration, majestic, and opulent. Light purple rose is the perfect choice to express love at first sight, while all hues of lavender symbolize deep love.

Combination of Red and White Roses
Red and White roses signify unity and togetherness.

Combination of White and Yellow Roses
White and Yellow roses symbolize harmony.

Combination of Red and Pink Roses
Red and Pink roses represent passionate youthful love.

A country’s national flower plays a pivotal role in representing its history, cultural values and traditions of its nation. In some countries, national flowers were adopted to develop awareness and appreciation of the flowers due to the result of rising concern on ecological issues.

Flowers are one of the most significant national symbols for countries all around the world. Listed below is a comprehensive list of countries and their designated national flowers.

If you found any mismatches, do drop me a line!