Rant: I was cutting all my flower stems straight across for years until a wedding client asked why her bouquet died so fast

I had a huge wedding order in Boise last weekend, and the bride called me two days later saying her bouquet was already wilting. I was so confused because I used fresh stock and conditioned everything. When I asked her how she was caring for it, she said she was changing the water daily and recutting the stems like I told her. I asked her to send a picture, and I saw it. She had snipped them straight across with scissors, just like I always did. A quick google search told me that a straight cut can seal against the vase bottom and you NEED a sharp angled cut for water uptake. I felt like such a fool. Has anyone else had a basic technique they were just plain wrong about for a long time?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricialee5d ago

But is that really what killed the flowers?

the_joseph5d ago

You sure? River_allen's point about aftercare makes sense to me.

river_allen5d ago

Oh man, that's such a gut punch. You did everything right with the flowers themselves, and it was a tiny detail in the aftercare that messed it up. It really shows how one small thing we take for granted can make a huge difference.