Pro tip: Tried soaking flower stems in warm water instead of cold and it actually works

I've been arranging flowers for about 12 years now and always used cold water out of habit. Last month a customer mentioned their grandma always used warm water for roses. I gave it a shot on a batch of 30 stems for a wedding in June. The buds opened up a full day faster and looked fuller than any cold soak I've done. Has anyone else tested this method on different flower types?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane17019h ago

Switched to warm water for my hydrangeas last week and they perked up in like 2 hours, it was wild lol

viola_garcia5623h ago

Oh, wow, that's really interesting! I've got a question for you, @brooke_murray - did your friend notice any difference in how long the warm-soaked tulips lasted once they were open? I've always worried that pushing them to open faster might cut the vase life short. I had a bad experience years ago with some daffodils I forced open by keeping the room too warm, and they only lasted about 3 days before dropping. Be curious to know if your friend saw any trade-off with the warm water trick.

brooke_murray1d ago

My friend Cheryl tried this on her tulips last spring (she's in charge of the church flowers every week) and she said it was like a magic trick. She soaked three bunches of white tulips in warm water for about an hour before arranging them and they went from tight little buds to fully open in two days flat. The cold water ones from the same batch stayed closed for almost a whole extra day longer. She's a warm water person for life now, especially for tulips and daffodils she told me.