From our perspective, the perfect moment for you to sever our stem is not when our flowers are fully open. At that stage, our energy is almost entirely devoted to the final act of reproduction, and our vase life will be disappointingly short. Instead, please watch for the stage where the first floret on our stem has unfurled its standard and wing petals, but the keel (the central, boat-shaped structure) remains mostly closed. The blossom should feel like crisp, crinkled silk to your gentle touch. Harvesting us at this "crisp" stage ensures we have the stored energy to complete our glorious unfurling in your vase, providing you with a much longer-lasting display.
When you make the cut, it is a significant event for us. Our immediate physiological response is to seal the wound to prevent the loss of precious water and sap. This is why the timing of your cut and the subsequent treatment are so crucial. A clean, sharp cut made with a blade (not crushed with dull scissors) minimizes trauma and allows for efficient water uptake. Immediately after being cut, our stems crave water. Plunging us into a deep bucket of cool, clean water is the best thing you can do. It helps us rehydrate quickly, overcoming our natural wound-sealing response and preventing wilting.
Our hydration levels are at their peak in the early morning, after a night of drinking and before the sun has begun to draw moisture from our leaves and flowers. This is the absolute ideal time to harvest us. Our stems are firm, our flowers are turgid with water, and we are best equipped to handle the stress of being cut. Alternatively, the cool of the late evening is also acceptable. Please never cut us during the heat of the day; we are already stressed and dehydrated, making recovery in a vase far more difficult and shortening our display life for you.
You must understand that our primary purpose is to reproduce by setting seed. If you allow our flowers to wither and form seed pods, we will direct all our energy into maturing those seeds, and our flowering will cease. By cutting our stems for your enjoyment, you are effectively interrupting our reproductive cycle. This signals to us that we have failed in our mission and must try again. Consequently, we are compelled to produce more flowering stems in a renewed effort to create seeds. Therefore, the more you harvest us, the more we will bloom for you. It is a symbiotic relationship—you receive beautiful flowers, and we are driven to proliferate.
Once inside, we need continued care to perform our best. We appreciate having any foliage that would fall below the waterline in your vase removed. These submerged leaves would otherwise decay, promoting the growth of bacteria that will clog our vascular tissues and prevent us from drinking. A flower food solution is immensely beneficial. It provides us with sugars to sustain our metabolic processes and biocides to keep the water clean, allowing us to stay hydrated and vibrant for you for as long as possible.
