Taking care of your flowers

Flowers and greenery are living things. The following suggestions will help ensure that your gift or purchase has the longest life possible; but keep in mind, that senescence is a natural part of the process and can be appreciated in its own way.

• Placement: A vase of flowers should be placed in the coolest place possible, out of direct sunlight; which can cause wilting, bleaching of flower colors, and hastening of senescence (natural deterioration process) of flowers.

  • Place flowers away from fruits and vegetables laying out on a countertop. Ripening fruit and vegetables emit a naturally occurring plant hormone, called ethylene. As ethylene levels increase with ripening, it can trigger nearby plant life sensitive to ethylene to senescence (i.e. the natural death process) as well.

  • In addition, keep flowers away from heat registers and oil diffusers, which can reduce the vase life of flowers.

• Water: Keep water clean. To avoid bacterial build up in the container, which reduces the ability of the flowers and greenery to take up water, change the water every 2-3 days. Some flowers, like zinnias and rudbeckia, tend to deposit dirt into the water. These hairy stemmed flowers hold a lot of dirt from the field that comes off when submerged in water. Some dirtiness is unavoidable, although a drop of bleach added to water can help clear it up. Special note: Zinnias are available throughout the summer; please change water frequently for zinnias as their hairy stems tend to deposit field material throughout their vase life which creates dirty water.

• Stems: When you change the container water, also recut all stems to expose new stem tissue to water; again, helping to maximize the uptake of water. Recut stems with a sharp knife or scissors, and cut at a 45 degree angle to ensure that stems don’t lay flat on the bottom of the vase, which could impede water uptake.

• Food: If you bought a wrapped bouquet, you also received a floral food packet. Use it right away! If you received a vase arrangement, the water already contained floral food to maximize the life of the flowers. Tulips, and other bulb flowers, do not typically benefit with addition of flower food, and therefore, is not given with our bulb bouquets.

  How long should flowers last?

  Farm-grown flowers, raised & harvested by me. I conservatively suggest that my farm-grown flowers can expect to last an average of 5 days in a vase, although each type and variety will vary some. Vase life will be extended with proper care; changing water, recutting stems, and use of the floral food provided. Tulips, and other bulb flowers, do not typically benefit with addition of flower food, and therefore, is not given with our bulb bouquets.

  Barclay Flower Farm’s policy. If you feel that the life of your flowers was not sufficient based on these suggested averages, please use the Get in Touch feature on the top menu to contact me for resolving any issue. My goal is to provide you with the best possible experience, and I am eager to replace flowers that simply do not meet expectation. Although there are limitations to replacing flowers that were not cared for, I will do my best to educate and improve the next experience.

  A word on safety and toxicity of flowers

• All parts of the following plants grown at Barclay Flower Farm are poisonous: foxglove, lupine, delphinium and larkspur. Exercise caution around children and pets. In addition, tulips and lilies are poisonous for cats and dogs.

  • The purchaser assumes all liability relating to the use of this product. Barclay Flower Farm is not responsible for consumption or allergic reactions; including flower donation items.

• Use of flowers for bakery decoration and/or consumption: Almost all plant types pose some degree of toxicity to humans and animals, depending on the amount and frequency consumed. Please use the Get in Touch feature to contact me with specific questions regarding your intended use to incorporate purchased flowers for your cake decoration needs. You are at your our risk using purchased flowers in/on consumable items if you do not seek help from me prior to use; in addition, Barclay Flower Farm LLC is not responsible for consumption or allergic reactions; including flower donation items.

• Safety for children and pets: Almost all plant types pose some degree of toxicity to humans and animals, depending on the amount and frequency consumed. In general, it is best to minimize the potential for children and pets to consume flowers by placing them out of their reach. In the event that children/pets consume flowers, seek help through poison control (children: Poison Control Hotline, pets: KSU Veterinary Toxicology Lab) Barclay Flower Farm LLC is not responsible the resulting impacts of consuming flowers by humans/animals. In addition, Barclay Flower Farm LLC is not responsible for any allergic reactions to flowers.