Why Flower Food Really Matters (and Not Just at Home)

 

Once a flower is cut, it’s immediately separated from the plant that sustained it.

No roots.
No ongoing water supply.
No natural sugars or growth hormones.

From that moment on, everything the flower needs to open properly, hold its shape, keep its colour, scent and leaf quality has to come from the water in the vase.

That’s why flower food isn’t a finishing touch — it’s part of a continuous food chain.

According to professional best practice used by growers, wholesalers and florists worldwide, flower food needs to be present at every stage:

• At the grower

• At the wholesaler

• In the florist’s shop

• And finally, in the customer’s home

If that chain is broken at any point, vase life is permanently reduced. You can’t “fix it later”.

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What Proper Flower Food Actually Does

All cut flowers absorb water and nutrients through the cut end of the stem. Good-quality flower food is carefully balanced to support this process.

Professional flower food contains:

• pH regulators – to keep water at the correct acidity so stems can drink

• Water absorption promoters – to prevent blockages and air locks

• Nutrients – to replace the sugars normally supplied by the plant

Used correctly, professional flower food can increase vase life by up to 60% compared to water alone.

 

How We Condition Flowers in Store at Grand Flowers

At Grand Flowers, flower food isn’t something we leave to chance — it’s built into how every bouquet is prepared.

Our process includes:

• Thoroughly cleaning containers and buckets before use

• Conditioning flowers immediately in a fresh, cold solution of professional-grade clear flower food

• Removing all foliage below the waterline to prevent contamination

• Handling stems carefully to avoid damage that would restrict water uptake

This stage alone can make the difference between flowers that struggle after a few days and flowers that continue to open and perform properly at home.

It’s invisible to the customer — but absolutely critical.

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What We Ask You to Do at Home

To keep that food chain intact once your flowers leave us, a few simple steps make a big difference:

• Always add the supplied flower food to clean tap water

• Trim stems diagonally by 3–5cm using a sharp, clean knife or secateurs

• Make sure no leaves sit below the waterline

• Keep flowers away from direct sun, draughts and radiators

• Change the water completely (don’t just top it up) and re-add flower food

Follow those steps and you’re giving your flowers the same care they received all the way through the supply chain.

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The Bottom Line 🌹

Flowers don’t fade early because they were poor quality.
They fade early because the water environment failed.

At Grand Flowers, we use professional flower food as standard in every bouquet, because it’s the only way to keep flowers performing the way they should.

Done properly, it’s the difference between:

“That was lovely”

and

“These flowers just kept going.”