Extend the Life of Cut Daffodils, Tulips and Other Spring Flowering Bulbs

Bouquets of tulips, daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs brighten our mood and indoor décor.

Maximize your enjoyment with proper selection and care. Choose flowers in tight or unopened buds just starting to show color.

Once home, recut the stems on a diagonal, removing about a half an inch. Place in a clean vase filled with warm water and floral preservative. These preservatives feed the flowers and inhibit the growth of bacteria that can shorten the flowers vase life and beauty.

Tulips will continue growing after cut. Since they grow toward the light, turning them daily helps encourage more upright growth. Or use a tall vase for extra support or design an arrangement that takes advantage of this.

Don’t mix daffodils with other cut flowers. These exude a sap that can clog the water vessels of other flowers and shorten their vase life.

A bit more information: Some sources say a preservative is not needed for tulips. Research by Kumar and others published in the Journal of Applied Horticulture showed that preservatives kept flowers longer than if just placed in water.