How to Revive Drooping Flowers

A drooping flower is usually a thirsty flower, not a dead one. Most of the time something is stopping water from reaching the bloom: a bubble of air in the stem, a cut end that has sealed over, or a vase that ran low overnight. Find the cause, give the stem a fresh start, and many flowers stand up again within a few hours.

Why flowers droop

• An air lock. When a stem sits out of water, even for a minute, air can be drawn into the cut end and block the flow. The bloom goes limp even though the vase is full.
• Low or dirty water. A big arrangement can drink a surprising amount in a day, and bacteria in cloudy water clog the stems.
• Heat and dry air. A radiator, steam heat, a sunny south window or a car on a warm day makes flowers lose water faster than they can drink it.
• Age. Every flower eventually runs its course, and no trick changes that.

The basic rescue for any flower

1. Fill a clean vase or tall container with fresh, cool to lukewarm water and the flower food packet we include with every order.
2. Take the drooping stem out and cut 1 to 2 inches off the bottom at an angle with a sharp knife or clean pruners. If you can, make the cut with the stem end under water, in a bowl or under a running tap, so no new air gets in.
3. Strip any leaves that would sit below the waterline.
4. Put the stem straight into deep water (gerberas are the exception: a few inches is enough) and leave it somewhere cool and out of direct sun for a few hours.

If your design sits in green foam (a few do), don't pull stems out. Top the foam up until it is soaked through and let the whole arrangement rest somewhere cool.

Roses with bent necks

A rose whose head flops over just below the bloom is showing "bent neck." Usually the flower simply cannot drink, and caught early it often recovers. Recut the stem as above, then roll the rose snugly in a sheet of newspaper or kraft paper, with the head held upright inside the paper and the stem end sticking out the bottom. Stand the bundle in deep water up to the base of the paper and leave it for a few hours, or overnight in a cool room. Unwrap it and put it back in the vase. For roses that don't respond, our rose care guide describes a warm-water soak.

Be realistic: if the neck is creased or has gone soft and dark, it will not come back. Some roses bend because the stem under the bud was never strong enough, and no amount of water fixes that.

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are the thirstiest flowers in most arrangements, and they wilt dramatically when they run short. They also take up water through their petals, which makes them one of the easiest flowers to revive.

1. Recut the stem, removing an inch or more.
2. Fill a sink or basin with cool or room-temperature water and lay the whole flower head in it, fully submerged, for 30 minutes to an hour (a very limp head can stay a few hours).
3. Lift it out, shake off the extra water gently and return it to deep, fresh water.

Keep hydrangeas away from ripening fruit, which gives off ethylene gas that ages flowers. See our hydrangea care guide for daily care.

Tulips, gerberas and lilac

Tulips

A little bending is normal. Tulips keep growing after they are cut, often an inch or more, and turn toward the light. That curve is part of their charm. If they flop more than you like, recut them, wrap the bunch snugly in paper with the heads upright, stand them in cool water and leave them for a few hours or overnight. They firm up straight. Turn the vase every day so they don't all lean toward the window. Our tulip care guide has the rest.

Gerbera daisies

Gerberas bend a few inches below the flower when the stem loses water or bacteria plug it. Their fuzzy stems clog quickly, so give them only a few inches of clean water with flower food, recut them, and change that water often. A gerbera that has folded sharply rarely straightens, but one that is only leaning usually perks up. More in our gerbera care guide.

Lilac and other woody stems

Lilac wilts faster than almost any other cut flower. Recut the stem with a sharp blade. If you like, make a short vertical slit, 1 to 2 inches, up the center of the stem end so more of the dense wood touches water; it is optional. Strip most of the leaves, since they drink water the flowers need, and stand the stems in deep, cool water. Please don't hammer the ends: crushed stems take up water poorly and rot sooner. Details are in our lilac care guide.

After the rescue

• Give revived flowers a few hours somewhere cool before they go back on show. Overnight is even better.
• Keep them away from radiators, heating vents, air-conditioning drafts and direct sun.
• Top the vase up daily and change the water every 2 days or so, or whenever it looks cloudy, recutting the stems each time.
• Skip the old home remedies. Aspirin and pennies don't do anything useful, and sugar or soda on their own feed the bacteria that clog stems. The flower food packet is made for the job.

Our guide to making cut flowers last covers the everyday routine that keeps droop from starting.

When to let a bloom go

If a flower has not perked up after a night in fresh water, it is finished. The same goes for petals that are brown, papery or dropping, a slimy stem, or a neck that is creased. Take those stems out so the rest of the arrangement stays fresh, trim the survivors, and regroup them in a smaller vase or a glass. A single rose or a few hydrangea florets in a juice glass can brighten a kitchen for days.

If flowers we delivered droop on arrival and don't respond to any of this, call or email the shop within 3 days of delivery or pickup with your order number and a photo, and we'll take a look and make it right where we can.