Ordering Early: Flower Care & Tips

Placed an order for a wedding or special event? (If you haven't, check out this guide first!)

Receiving the order

Hydration!

Although we ship our bouquets with a small wet sponge for hydration during transit, with the hours and miles involved in getting these flowers to you, it is quite normal for them to arrive dehydrated. Typical signs of dehydration are drooping or soft bloom heads. 

So as soon as you receive your bouquet, trim the stems, and then get it into a vase filled about 1/3 of the way with cool, tap water. Let your bouquet hydrate for the next hour and you’ll see those sleepy little stems come right back to life! Pro Tip: over the next 24 hours (or whenever your event takes place) take care to watch the water level and refill as necessary. Thirsty bouquets will go through water lickety-split!

Quality!

As soon as your bouquets arrive, check them out! If they arrive looking less than blooming beautiful - fret not! Here's a couple of our favorite insider secrets below to troubleshoot your bouquet and get it ready for its close up in no time!

You might notice some roses in your bouquet with discolored or wrinkled outer petals. Don’t panic! These are what we call guard petals in the floral world. Think of these as nature’s way of protecting the rose from any bumps and bruises in transit. Most importantly, they are no indication of the vitality or freshness of the flower beneath - whew! 

Once the bouquet has arrived safely to you, go ahead and pick them off! Simply grab the base of the petal firmly but gently and pull up. Take care to not touch the other petals on the bloom as you do this as this can lead to bruising on the rest of the bloom. 

We do our best to bundle up your bouquet for safe transit but accidents can happen. Sometimes an accident means a snapped stem or two. While it’s not ideal, we’re prepared! Part of our “just in case” protocol at Farmgirl Flowers means we ship you a few extra stems in your bouquet for times just like these! Simply remove the damaged stems.

Storage until the event

Once your blooms are in water find a cool, dark location in your home for storage. Ideally, this space won’t be disturbed until your event and has little to no light or heat as both will cause your flowers to wilt or discolor, shortening their lifespan. 

Our top picks? Basements, closets or unused bathrooms. When the heat is on, it can be tempting to put your bouquet into your fridge, but we recommend keeping these flowers out of your icebox. Certain fruits and vegetables emit gases that can also shorten the lifespan of flowers.

Until the event, check your bouquets water level regularly. Additionally, trim the stems once and day, rinse the vase (to prevent a buildup of bacteria), and remove any dead or dying flowers (if any) will ensure your bouquet is ready for the big day!