Rose Flower Care

• Prepare a clean vase full of flower preservative solution, mixed accurately according to the directions on the package. Mix with tap or distilled water, but avoid using water from a home or commercial water softener. If you are using floral foam in your vase, before placing the foam in the vase, saturate it in the preservative solution by allowing it to sink of its own weight in a container of the solution. When placing the foam in the vase, be sure it is fully submerged in the preservative solution.
• Remove any foliage that will be under water after the roses are arranged.
• While holding the stems under water in a sink or under running water, cut about an inch off each stem with a sharp knife or shears. Immediately place the rose in the vase of preservative solution.
• After arranging, if possible, place the arrangement in a cool, dark room or a refrigerator for 2-3 hours (but do not allow them to freeze).
• When picking a place to display your roses, choose a cool spot that is out of the sun and out of any drafts, and away from any heat sources.
• As with roses received in a vase, check the container daily and add preservative solution as needed to keep the vase full and floral foam submerged.

• Be sure that your roses do not run out of preservative solution in their vase. Check roses daily, and add preservative solution (as required) keeping the vase full. If floral foam is used, it must be kept submerged by adding preservative solution to the vase. To make preservative solution, mix the contents of a flower preservative packet with tap water or distilled water, according to the directions on the package.
• IMPORTANT: Avoid using water from a home or commercial water softener.

• Premature wilting (within a day or two of receiving or arranging) may indicate that there is air trapped in the stem that is preventing preservative solution from moving up to the flower. Also, there may be a cut or scrape in the bark above the water level.
• To revive the rose, re-cut the stem an inch or so from the bottom or above any damaged area of the stem, and then submerge the entire rose in a basin or shallow pan of warm water (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit). Be sure the stem is straightened out, and that the end of the stem stays submerged. It will usually revive within an hour or so, and can be replaced in the arrangement.