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Which Flowers Last Longest?

Christine Tasker • January 29, 2023

Hmmm decisions, decisions… A bunch of Poppies? Roses? A native bouquet? An all-white bunch? What about an eye-poppingly colourful ‘Pop of Colour’ bouquet or a soft “Blush Garden’ bunch?

Our customers often want to know which flowers will last longest, which bouquet they should choose that will look great for a reasonable period of time. And after all, our customers are paying for a premium fresh product for themselves or for a gift.

So, it’s important!

Whether you’re a Saturday morning shopper looking to buy something fresh for the freshly-cleaned house, or a friend looking to send a birthday bunch to your bestie, you want to be sure you’re getting flowers that will look good for the days after you’ve made your purchase.

In simple terms, most cut flowers should last between 7-12 days.

That’s pretty general, right?

We know that flowers make a room feel brighter and happier. The delicate fragrance of fresh flowers can improve your mood and outlook. Being on the receiving end of a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers is a special feeling, whether you’re being congratulated, birthday-ed, anniversary-ed or receiving condolences about a loved one. But we do know that once even the freshest, most perfect flowers are cut, nature takes its course and those flowers will begin their gradual decline. So, once they leave the shop, they need proper care to look their best!

Some great tips for keeping your flowers in good condition when you get them home:

Unwrap
Snip the stems with sharp scissors (at an angle)
Put into a clean vase of water with flower food
Change the water every couple of days (and give the stems another snip)
Keep the flowers in a cool area of the room, away from too much heat and light
Place the vase away from fruit bowls (ripening fruit emits ethylene gas that harms fresh flowers)

Close-up of a bunch of flowers in a vase — Flowers in Fairy Meadow, NSW

But which flowers actually last longest, I hear you ask?

This is a little guide showing how long good quality flowers should generally last.

Table showing the number of weeks for different plants — Flowers in Fairy Meadow, NSW

Still deciding what to buy?

Of course, most people don’t choose their flowers purely on the basis of how long they’ll last. And often a bouquet will contain 4 or more different types of flowers, all of which may have a different vase life. Some things to take into consideration:

Who am I buying for?
What event is being celebrated?
What’s my budget?
What’s my preferred colour/style? (all-out glamour, stylish minimalist, natural native, lush and colourful, nostalgic and sweet)

Bouquet of flowers is sitting on top of a wicker basket — Flowers in Fairy Meadow, NSW

Now, go on, play my matching game and ask yourself what you really want these flowers for!

A big statement bunch in a vase to place on a dining table
An impressive thank you bouquet to go to a workplace
A sincere and understated bouquet to express your condolences to a family
A happy bunch for a great friend
Mum and Dad’s big anniversary
Christmas/ Easter / engagement/ baby shower lunch table
A long lasting bouquet for a ‘non-flower fan person’ (do these really exist?)
A small gift for your Grandmother

Possible matches ( in no particular order)

‘Rustic Tones’ bouquet with banksia, protea, waratah, roses, bronze disbud chrysanthemums
A hand-tied bunch of sweet peas or poppies
‘Crisp Whites’ bouquet of roses, lisianthus, snapdragons, ‘big mumma’ chrysanthemums, orchids, veronica and freesia
5 or 10 sunflowers tied in a bouquet
‘Pink Love’ bouquet filled with 2-3 different pink roses, lisianthus, snapdragons
A low-sitting floral foam or vase arrangement of roses, orchids and seasonal flowers
A luxe-sized ‘Orchids en masse’ arrangement of three phaleanopsis orchid stems
A rose-heavy ‘Peaches and Cream’ bouquet with peach and pink tones and fresh, pale foliage.