Tulips keep growing after they're cut — up to an inch in the vase — which is why they bow, lean and wander across the table. The good news: five small habits will keep them straight and fresh for up to twelve days.
1. Give them a tall, straight-sided vase
Tulip stems are soft and phototropic, so they bend toward the light. A tall, straight-sided vessel lets the stems lean on glass instead of air, which keeps the whole bunch upright. Fill it only two-thirds full — tulips drink less than roses, and deep water makes lower leaves rot.
2. Trim at an angle, in cold water
Trim two centimetres off every stem at a sharp angle under running water, then stand them straight into cold water with the food sachet we tuck into every order. Cold water slows the growth that causes drooping; warm water speeds it up.
3. Keep them cool and away from fruit
Ripening fruit breathes out ethylene gas, and tulips hate it — a bowl of bananas beside the vase can halve vase life. Keep the vase in a cool spot out of direct sun, away from radiators and fruit bowls, and move it somewhere cool overnight.
4. Refresh on day three and day six
On day three, rinse the vase, re-trim half a centimetre, and change the water. Repeat on day six. Each refresh buys two to three more days, and it's the single biggest difference between a five-day bunch and a twelve-day one like our Blush Tulip Bunch.
5. Give drooping heads a second act
When the heads finally drop, don't bin them. Float them in a shallow bowl of cold water and they'll open flat like waterlilies for another two days — a trick we use on the studio table every week.
Want stems that arrive already conditioned? Shop fresh tulips — every bunch leaves the studio trimmed, fed and wrapped for the journey.
