Tulips are the ultimate herald of spring. A bouquet of tulips in a vase brings fresh colors to the windowsill or the table. Tulips need to be pruned and cared for properly if they are to last.
In a nutshell
- Ideally, cut tulips from the garden in the morning
- the stalks of fresh tulips squeak when you hold them tightly
- wrap in damp newspaper after purchase
- Tulips continue to grow in the vase
- an oblique cut will help the tulips
Table of contents
- Preparation
- Cut right
- Further care
- frequently asked Questions
Preparation
If you buy a bouquet of tulips in a shop or at the market, you can easily see the freshness of the flowers. If the stems are gripped tightly and there is a slight squeak when rubbed, the tulips are fresh. Directly in the store, you should have them wrapped in paper so that the interface does not dry out. Was a bouquet of tulips bought in a store or from your own garden cut, then further preparation is important so that the tulips last a long time in the vase:
- choose the right cutting tool
- sharp clean knife
- Scissors can cause bruises
- Cable tracks are damaged as a result
- provide a selected vase of fresh water
- Strip the lower leaves off the tulips
When these preparations are complete, the next step begins: cutting the tulips.
Tip: If the knife used is not sharp, the handle can also be crushed when cutting. This can impair water and nutrient uptake and cause the tulips to wilt more quickly.
Cut right
When cutting tulips for the vase, it is important that the flowers can later absorb the water and the nutrients it contains. This step should always be carried out, even if the flowers are already cut in the shop:
- smooth cut
- ideally at an angle to the stem
- cut as diagonally as possible
- this allows the tulips to get a larger shot
- more pathways are opened for uptake
It is important to place the tulips in fresh, prepared water immediately after cutting to avoid drying out the cut surface. That is why you should always work in such a way that a tulip is cut, placed in water and only then is the next tulip cut.
Further care
Not only the right cut is decisive for how long the tulips last in the vase.
Further care measures are required:
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice to the water
- has an antibacterial effect and lowers the pH value
- Arrange the tulips loosely in the vase
- Add preservative from the florist to the water
- change the water every two days
- Re-cut the stems every two days
- Cut off the stem ends that turn brown
- Location at normal room temperature or preferably slightly cooler
- Tulips grow faster when it's warm
- do not combine with daffodils in a vase
The daffodils release a substance into the water. If this is absorbed by the tulips, the pathways are blocked as a result. The flowers then wither very quickly. However, it is perfectly possible to place daffodils and tulips side by side in two different vases.
A notice: If the tulips are placed too close together in the vase or too deep in the water, there is a risk that the stems will quickly begin to rot.
frequently asked Questions
If you cut the flowers from your own garden for the vase, then the early morning is particularly suitable. The flowers are then still in night mode. It is also helpful to choose a dry day. Otherwise, wet petals will quickly turn brown in the vase and the bouquet of tulips will be unsightly. With the chosen tulips, it is important that the flowers are firm and closed. Tulips that are already open also wither very quickly.
Slender and tall vases are particularly suitable for tulips. Because the flowers grow back very quickly even in water. Therefore, they need a little support from the vase walls for their stems. A rule of thumb here is that the vase should always be about two thirds as high as the bouquet of tulips.
This is where the newspaper trick can help. You need to place the tulips straight next to each other and then wrap them tightly with newspaper. The stems stick out a few centimeters at the bottom. Cut them with a sharp and clean knife. After that, soak the bunch in water for about two hours. The stems are automatically stiffened by absorbing the fresh water, the taut newspaper helps to straighten them as well. After that you can prepare them for the vase.
Cut, fresh tulips will usually last between seven and 10 days in a vase if you prepare and care for them appropriately.
