May 27, 2025, 12:51 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Receiving roses is a special gesture. To honor the intention, it’s important to take good care of the cut flowers. The following tips can help keep roses fresh longer.
Whether in innocent white, delicate pink, bright yellow, or bold red—roses are among the most popular flowers. Besides the garden bed, they can also adorn the home as cut flowers. The rose is considered the queen of flowers and should be treated accordingly. myHOMEBOOK reveals how to keep roses fresh in a vase for longer.
How to Keep Roses Fresh Longer
If you don’t care for and maintain roses in a vase, the flowers will wilt quickly. However, by following a few care tips, you can extend the lifespan of roses up to ten days.
Tip 1: Flower Food
To enjoy roses in a vase for a long time, you shouldn’t just place them in water. Rose expert Elke Gottschall, managing director of the German Rose Society, tells myHOMEBOOK that she relies on flower food from the florist. These small packets usually contain a mix of glucose, citric acid, and other substances.
Often, you receive a packet when you buy cut flowers. You should use it! It significantly contributes to keeping roses fresh longer. If you haven’t received flower food, you can mix it yourself. For one liter of water, combine a teaspoon of sugar with a teaspoon of lemon juice as an energy source. The lemon juice lowers the pH level and inhibits bacterial growth. Alternatively, you can use vinegar.
Note: Not only do the flowers benefit from sugar in the water, but bacteria do too. With homemade flower food, it’s even more important to change the water. The rose expert recommends changing the water in the vase daily.
Tip 2: Cut Roses
Additionally, you should cut the roses. It’s best to make a diagonal cut. The angled cut increases the surface area, allowing the roses to absorb more water. It’s best to cut the stems under running water using sharp and clean garden shears.
Every two to three days, you should recut the roses to keep them fresh longer.
Tip 3: Clean the Vase
Not only should you prepare the flowers, but the vase also affects the longevity of the roses. Before placing the bouquet in the vase, you should thoroughly clean it to remove bacteria. A bit of dish soap helps with this.
Tip 4: Water Temperature
To keep roses fresh longer, it’s important they receive plenty of water—and can absorb it. It’s best to fill the vase with lukewarm water, as cut flowers can absorb it better than cold water.
Tip 5: Remove Leaves
As with all cut flowers, you should remove the lower leaves from roses so they don’t sit in the water. If you don’t remove them, there’s a risk they’ll rot and contaminate the water. Additionally, with roses, it’s important to remove the thorns.
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Tip 6: The Right Location
While roses in the garden prefer a sunny location, you should avoid placing the vase in direct sunlight. A bright spot with indirect light is better. Roses should also not be placed near a heater. You should not store fruit next to roses either. Various fruit types produce ethylene, a ripening gas that causes rose blooms to wilt faster.