The Short and Long of Processing Flowers: How to Keep Blooms at Their Best

Table of Contents

• The Simple Method
• The Long Method
• When You Need a Quicker Route
• In Conclusion...

When it comes to flowers, first impressions matter, and that starts the moment they arrive at your shop. Our flowers come directly from one of our farms straight to your door, making them days fresher than most wholesalers. Whether you're prepping blooms for a wedding, an event, or your daily orders, proper flower care is what makes all the difference in longevity and customer satisfaction. 

Think of flower processing as the foundation of everything you create. Doing it right extends the life of your blooms, keeps them looking fresh, and ensures your customers get a product they’ll love. Let’s break down the two main approaches to flower processing, and when each one makes the most sense. Every florist has their own tips and tricks, and we have compiled two lists to help you know exactly how to process your flowers. You can either do the short and simple way, or the deep and detailed way. 

The Simple Method

Perfect for when you're short on time or working with hardier flowers. this method includes:

• Cutting the stems
• Removing lower leaves
• Hydrating in clean water (bonus points for floral food!)
  
  It’s a solid approach when you need quick results or are just getting started. It keeps your flowers fresh and helps them open beautifully.

The Long Method

This one’s for florists who want to get every last day of freshness, and then some. It’s especially useful for delicate varieties like lilies, peonies, or gerberas, which are more sensitive to bacteria and prone to wilting.

Using professional-grade flower care products, this method:

• Enhances water absorption
• Prevents stem rot and discoloration
• Keeps flowers looking vibrant longer

The result? Happy flowers, happy customers, and fewer losses in your cooler.

The Long Method: Step-by-Step Flower VIP treatment:

• Keep those wrappers on roses! Other stems, do remove the wrappers. Start by cleaning foliage and removing any offshoots about a quarter way up the stem.
• Hydrate with purpose. Give stems a fresh cut and place them in a hydration solution like Floralife Hydraflor100 or QuickDip (avoid QuickDip with ranunculus!). Let them soak overnight in a cooler for best results.
  
• Clean again. Once they’ve soaked, unwrap and remove any additional foliage, especially for hollow stems to avoid rot. Flowers like ranunculus, calla lilies, and tulips prefer to be sat in shallow water. 
  
• After the overnight initial hydration, give stems a second cut and place them in a holding solution like Floralife 200. Always use clean buckets! This is a great time to wire any delicate stems. Ranunculus, for example, can last weeks when properly wired. Other stems that always benefit from wiring are dahlias, gerberas, and garden roses. The purpose of wiring is to remove weight from resting on the stems so the stem does not cave under the weight of the bloom.
  
• Design time! Use a bloom-promoting solution like Floralife Crystal Clear 300 in your vase water or soaked floral foam. Also, ensure your floral foam is completely soaked! Don’t get in a hurry!
• For a final step before sending your blooms to their new home, finish with Finishing Touch for petal hydration and Crowning Glory to seal in freshness. This last step is important!

When You Need a Quicker Route (and That's Okay!)

While the long version of processing flowers is incredibly beneficial, it is not always necessary, or not always feasible. Sometimes time, or staff, is tight. To ensure your flowers get the best second option, follow the following steps:

• Cut stem tips and strip lower leaves
• Let flowers hydrate in clean, cool water (with floral food) for a few hours or overnight
• Keep roses wrapped during this stage; other flowers can be unwrapped
• Once hydrated, remove any remaining debris or leaves
• Arrange with floral food in water or foam
• Finish with a hydration or sealing spray

It’s not as long-lasting as the full method, but it’s miles better than skipping processing altogether.

In Conclusion...

Proper flower processing doesn’t just make your blooms look better, it makes your business look better, too. When your arrangements stay fresher for longer, you reduce waste, impress customers, and build loyalty with every bouquet.

Even better? When you source flowers from iBuyFlowers, you’re already a step ahead. We ship directly from our farms to your door, no middlemen, no unnecessary handling. That means your flowers arrive fresher, and with the right care, they’ll last even longer. 

Wilfred de Wit, CEO of iBuyFlowers

Want More Flower Know-How?

Want to read more about the flowers that come from our farms? Check out our Agrogana and Agrinag farm blogs. Also learn more from our CEO, Wilfred de Wit, about how we connect florists with flower growers and more through this special podcast episode with Botanical Brouhaha!