How to Care for Fresh Roses

If you plan to do your own wedding flowers, knowing how to care for fresh flowers is as important as learning how to make the arrangements. Here are my top tips for keeping roses looking fresh and beautiful.

The first step in caring for your roses is called "conditioning". This process is designed to fully hydrate the roses, perk them up and get them ready for arranging. Conditioning should be done soon after you bring your roses home.

Set aside a special room for conditioning, storing and arranging the flowers. Your workspace should be a room where you can maintain these ideal conditions:


Temperature: between 65 and 70 degrees.
Protected from direct sunlight and away from direct heat sources and drafts.
Off-limits to pets and children.
Big enough for all of your helpers and supplies.
The workspace should include these basic items:

Five-gallon buckets. Plan on one bucket for every three to four bunches (75-100 roses). You can buy these for about $3.50 each at your local hardware store or online from the big home improvement stores. Please do not use buckets that have been used for cleaning because they may contain detergent residue that will harm your flowers.
Drop cloth. If your workspace is on carpet, lay down an old bed sheet or a plastic painting drop cloth or even an inexpensive shower curtain liner.
Sharp utility scissors. Available from craft or home improvement stores. We recommend several pairs so your friends and family can help.
Chairs and a table. You'll want to have a few places for you and your helpers to sit, and if you're making large arrangements you'll need a table with plenty of room to work.
Garbage bags. For easy clean-up
We recommend that you some enlist friends and family to help with this process. Not only will it make the work move much faster, it is also fun to socialize as all the lovely flowers emerge from the box looking and smelling wonderful.

Rinse out several of your clean buckets and fill them halfway with warm water.
Using your utility scissors, snip the straps that hold the flowers in the box. Remove the cellophane from the first bunch and snip the rubber bands that secure the bottoms of the stems. Remove the corrugated paper that is wrapped around the blooms by gently unrolling it.
Remove excess foliage with your utility scissors. If you are creating a bouquet remove all the foliage now; for other types arrangements, leave on the top 2-4 sets of leaves. Tip: Don't let any of the foliage fall into water. Foliage exposed to water will begin to decay and introduce bacteria that will shorten the life of your flowers.
Some varieties of roses have more thorns than others. If you clip the tips off the thorns now, it will make the flowers easier to arrange later.
Remove any damaged petals. You may notice that the outermost petals of the roses, called guard petals, may be a bit bruised and/or broken. This is completely normal, so you just need to gently pluck off any of the outer damaged petals with your fingers and discard them.
Now, trim the stems by placing the stem of each rose under water (you can use an extra bucket) and using sharp utility scissors, cut the stem at a 45 degree angle. Place the first rose in one of your prepared buckets. Keep on going until all your flowers are done.
All the leaves and stems and packing material can make a little bit of a mess so be sure to leave 20-30 minutes to clean up.
Next, leave your roses undisturbed in their buckets for 2-12 hours to hydrate. Remember to keep your workspace conditions ideal, maintain a consistent water level, and resist the temptation to handle the roses until you are ready to create your arrangements.