May 27, 2025, 2:41 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
With cut flowers, you can bring a piece of blooming nature into your home. However, before placing them in a vase, the flowers should be trimmed. MyHOMEBOOK explains what to watch out for in this article.
Whether for a birthday, graduation, or just because—as a sign of friendship or love for someone else or for yourself: Bouquets are always a good idea. To keep them fresh for a long time, it’s important to trim the flowers before placing them in the vase. Typically, the stems are cut at an angle—though this isn’t always advisable.
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Cutting Flowers at an Angle or Straight? Here’s What Matters
It’s almost common knowledge by now that you should trim flowers before putting them in a vase. However, the right technique is crucial to achieve the desired effect and avoid damaging the flowers. Generally, stems are cut at an angle—this allows the flowers to absorb more water. This technique also helps prevent bruising. Bruises or tears can cause the plants to absorb water poorly or not at all.
Note: In general, make sure to trim flowers with a sharp knife to ensure a clean cut.
In fact, an angled cut is only necessary for flowers with a hard or woody stem—such as roses, hydrangeas, peonies, or chrysanthemums. For soft or hollow stems like those of tulips, ranunculus, or lilies, the cut should be straight. This reduces the risk of damaging the water-conducting pathways in the stem.
Tip: You can dip the woody stem of hydrangeas or lilacs in boiling water for about 30 seconds after cutting. This seals the cut and prevents bacteria from multiplying.
Also interesting: 5 Tips to Keep Daffodils Fresh Longer in a Vase
Why Do We Trim Flowers at All?
Besides sunlight, an adequate water supply is crucial for plant survival. When you cut flowers to place them in a vase, the plant tries to protect itself. As Geo reports, this is essentially a wound.
The fine tubes inside the stem, responsible for nutrient and water supply, dry out. For this reason, the cut flower can no longer absorb water and wilts quickly. To allow the flower to absorb water again, the stems are trimmed.