Cut Roses
Roses from your garden make an excellent indoor decoration or gift, but in order to preserve the roses for as long as possible, you need to know how to cut them properly. Extra precautions should be taken to prevent bacteria from attacking the roses as you cut them and immediately after cutting them.
Steps
- Clean the vase you plan to put the roses in. In order to lengthen the life of your cut flowers, you need to make sure that the container you keep them in is as clean as possible and free from any bacteria that might kill off your flowers early. Usually, scrubbing the vase with warm water and mild detergent is adequate, but if you know that previous flowers in the vase had a disease or if the vase looks especially dirty, use bleach. Scrub the inside using a bottle brush and follow by soaking it.
- If your vase is dishwasher safe, you can also run it on a normal dishwashing cycle. You should verify that the vase can withstand such hot water before attempting it, however.
- Clean the shears. Your garden shears will be the first surface to come into contact with the delicate interior of the freshly cut stems, making it essential that they are clean and free from harmful bacteria. Wipe the blades using a rag soaked in a little bleach or alcohol. Rinse the sterilized blades under hot water.
- Choose the right roses. Roses last longest when they are cut immediately after the bud stage, when the petals are starting to open. Rose varieties with many petals, such as the Moonstone variety, should be cut at a more open stage, while rose varieties with fewer petals, like the Silverado, should be cut closer to the bud stage.
- Water the roses. If possible, make sure you know which morning you will cut your roses on the night before. Then, that night, give the rose bush a thorough watering, drenching the soil completely so that the roses have plenty to drink. The more water your roses absorb by the following morning, the longer the roses will last after being cut.
- Cut the roses in the early morning. Anytime from daybreak to 10:00 AM should work, but after that point, the weather begins heating up too much. Hot, sunny weather deprives your roses of substance, drying them out and making them weaker. On especially hot days, you should make it a point to cut your roses as early as possible.
- Alternatively, you can also cut your roses in the evening. If the roses are watered in the morning or if they receive a great deal of morning dew, cutting them in the evening, after the weather has cooled and the roses have had a chance to recover, can also work sufficiently well.
- Cut the roses to remove them from the bush. Using your clean shears, cut the rose stems at roughly a 45 degree angle. Cutting the roses at an angle prevents the stems from resting flat in the vase, which could prevent them from drinking all the water they need, resulting in an early death. Cut the stems low to the ground, leaving plenty of stem to work with for you to resize appropriately later on.
- Move the cut roses to a bucket of warm water. This does not need to be your vase. Instead, you should use a bucket with a large enough opening for you to work inside. All further cutting should be done inside this bucket of water to prevent air bubbles or embolisms from emerging inside the stems.
- Cut off leaves below the water line. Bacteria and rot can fester in leaves the sit in still water. You still need to leave the foliage above the water line, approximately the top half to the top third, intact. Otherwise, the roses will be unable to draw up water.
- Make a second cut. Make an angled cut underwater, similar the first. This cut will determine the final length of the stems and the final height of your roses. Temporarily remove the flowers from your bucket of water and measure them against the side of the vase to determine where to make the necessary cut. Once you have chosen the spot, return the flowers to the bucket and cut them beneath the water.
- Fill your vase with water and plant food. Use warm water. You can either use commercial rose food or make your own plant food by using 1 Tbsp (15 ml) vinegar, 1 tsp (5 ml) sugar, and 3 to 5 drops of household bleach per 1 liter (1 quart) of water. Bleach is especially useful in preventing harmful bacteria from attacking the freshly cut roses. Thoroughly dissolve the plant food before adding the roses.
- Allow the roses to sit in the conditioned water for one hour. Transfer the roses into your vase and sit the vase in a cool, dark room so that the water can thoroughly nourish the roses. Do not allow the blooms to get wet, however.
- Transfer the roses into the refrigerator. The roses must chill at approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) for at least two hours or until you are ready to gift them or display them.
- Change the water frequently. If possible, change the water daily to rid the roses' environment of bacteria. Frequently changed fresh water will help make the roses last longer.
- Avoid using softened water that contains salt since salt can hurt your roses.
Tips
- A few good rose varieties to consider cutting for display include Crystalline, Secret, and Red Intuition, which were all rose varieties originally bred for florists. Other varieties, like the Black Magic or Moonstone, also have relatively long display lives. Typically, hybrid teas last longer than antique varieties.
Things You’ll Need
- Vase
- Bucket
- Garden shears
- Vinegar
- Bleach
- Sugar
- Water
