I teach 生け花Ikebana;the Japanese art of flower arranging and the first thing I would like to teach is how to take care of flowers. If you take a little care of flowers, they will live a little longer, maybe much longer.
When you have a bouquet,
1 See all flowers and greenery and take t each stem and take off wilted leaves, flowers and broken stems.
2 Take off leaves which would be under the water.
3 Fill a bowl with water and cut the stems ( at angle ) under the water. It helps flowers and greenery to absorb water.
In Japanese this is called 水切り；みずきり Mizukiri
4 Leave all stems in the water. ( You can add some flower food if you have.)
Let flowers rest and absorb water for a while. You can see the difference. 30minuets is enough. When you see some of then don’t absorb water well, you should cut them shorter or give them more time. Especially Hydrangea.
* This is My secret additional process. Some people don’t like water to petals. I do this to roses. Flowers look better after rain. This video is for very busy person.
5 When you see all flowers looks better, you can arrange them.
Flowers and greenery will look fresh and happy when you give a little love!
Enjoy arranging flowers!!!