Today I have great tips about care for cut tulips! The tulips in an Eary Spring Vignette lasted almost two weeks with some practical care!!! I love tulips and if you do to you are in good company. So let’s keep them as long as possible! With just a few tips you can keep tulips pretty for longer than you think!!!
Tulips can last a really long time when they are cared for properly and today I’m going to share my top tips to keeping tulips fresh so they last as long as possible.
During the period in history called “tulip mania” around 1637 one single tulip bulb sold for 10 times the annual salary of a skilled craftsman. Wow! I can get a dozen cut tulips for under $8.00 at my local grocer’s! Today let’s enjoy keep these glorious cut tulips longer! I’ll show you how!
Fun Fact… Tulips continue to grow even after they have been cut!
SELECTION
When you are shopping for tulips, purchase bunches that are not fully open yet. In fact, pick the tulips that are tightly closed! Once they are opened, they have a limited vase life.
The image above shows tulips I bought that were tightly closed. They looked so graceful and pretty draped over the white pitcher! The next morning they were standing up straight!
I’ve also heard to put a couple ice cubes in the water to keep the tulips from opening. If you give this a try let me know how it works?
WATER
Let’s care for cut tulips by giving them plenty to drink! They are thirsty blooms!
Add cold water to the vase and fill it 3/4 of the way up. Mix in flower food and dissolve the food completely.
If you are putting tulips in a big container like the urn above put the tulips in in a container suggested below and then put the container in the larger urn etc.
You will want to change the water in the vase at least every other day. Tulip water can get a bit slimy and bacteria filled. Changing the water will keep them healthy and will extend their lives. Also, if the vase looks a little discolored or if there is anything left on the vase when the water is emptied wash it before replacing the new water.
CUTTING
Before putting in the vase, hold the stems to the outside of the vase to determine how tall they should be. Trim each stem at that spot at a 45 degree angle. When you change the water every other day, give your stems another trim of about an inch. Cutting at an angle creates a straw effect and the flower can drink up the fresh water easily. Remove any leaves or foliage that is below the waterline also.
LIGHT
Avoid placing in direct sunlight or near heat. Tulips will grow toward sunlight and may bend a little when doing so. They are okay in indirect sunlight
VASE
When choosing a vase for your tulips, select one that is tall. Go with a vase that is at least half as tall as the flower stems.
As you cut the tulips down, you can go with a shorter vase over time. Be sure to wash your vase well before use to remove any bacteria before you arrange your tulips. Make sure all soap is rinsed out of the vase.
LOCATION
Taking care of cut tulips is all about knowing where to put them so they thrive!
Place your arrangements in an area of your home that is free of drafts and not beside heaters, air conditioners, windows or stoves. Simple and easy, right?
OTHER
Many people swear that adding a penny to tulip water will make them stand tall. After lots of research, the jury is still out. It’s the copper in pennies that keep them standing tall. Sadly, today’s pennies just don’t have enough copper!
What will help your tulips when they start to get a bit droopy is to stick a pin or a toothpick through the throat ( at the very top of the stem) of a tulip making a small hole. This releases air that gets trapped in the stem and allows water to be absorbed into the tulip. And often this will help revive your beautiful tulips.
Also, tulips continue to grow even when cut. I love the look of unruly, growing tulips! But if you are not a fan you can make a little slit in the throat of the tulip and it will stunt its growth. Fascinating, right?
Can you tell what color tulips I like? How about you? What color tulips are your favorite? And if you have any other caring for tulips tips let us know!
Come and see how to create an Easy Spring Vignette that features tulips!
Here’s what my Dutch friends instructed me (in no uncertain terms!):
The tulips should be in water all the time. When you get them home, put them in a sink of water (just the stems, not the blooms) and cut the ends off while they are submerged. Then quickly stick them into the vase.
Don’t overfill the vase. Only about a third full. Higher water makes them droop.
When you change the water (every other day at least), have a sink or bowl of water ready to stick the tulips into so those tips stay submerged. This prevents air getting into their veins and causing droop.
As you note, you can perk up tulips by pricking them with a pin. You might want to start a couple of inches below the flower and then prick them higher as days go by, if they droop again.
Cold water. And I have been told the penny trick is good.
And if you ever get a chance, check out Keukenhof. It’s a little kitschy, but the flowers are so gorgeous it’s worthwhile.
We are off to Amsterdam and a “Tulips and Windmills” cruise in 10 days. Will visit Keukenhof at the end of the trip. Love tulips and can’t wait!
Oh, have a wonderful time Kris. This tour is on my bucket list!
Thanks so much for these helpful tips!
Great tips! I have heard the penny trick too and I think I tried it once. I will have to pay closer attention to the results next time. Nothing says spring like pretty tulips this time of year. Now, if we could only get rid of all this snow!
Shelley
Love, love,love, tulips but am frustrated with their short life in an arrangement. I have tried the pennies with some success and also agree a cool place out of bright light helps them last longer. Even if their vase life is short they are worth it for their spring beauty. My yellow ones from my garden were such a delight to view on some of these rainy cold days of March. I treat tulips as annuals and replant each fall. Just make sure to get large healthy bulbs from a reliable source.
Oh, boy, I sure wish I lived where I could get a dozen tulips for $8.00. They are much more expensive in the grocery stores where I live. Also, you mention cutting off all of the leaves and foliage that fall beneath the water line; however, in the picture of your easy spring vignette above, I can see leaves in the water. Is it okay to have leaves below the water line or will that make the arrangement deteriorate faster?
I love the look of tulip leaves in a clear glass container. They look so so pretty. Yes, they are not so long lived but they sure are pretty.
I love soft pink tulips. I think they’re more romantic than roses.
I worked in a florist shop for 12 years. I have seen tulips start opening while I was delivering them to the customer! We used to include an instruction care pamphlet with them. not sure if customers followed the suggestions of not. As much as I love seeing beautiful tulips in many, many colors, I always ask for none in my own arrangements. I always enjoyed seeing them all lined up in our glass front cooler at work. We started getting them in January and they brightened the cold gray days.
Great tips for tulips! I’ve never bought any because I was sure they would die (I do not have a green thumb at all). I’m going to look for some on my next trip to the store.
Carol, please treat yourself to a bunch of tulips! They are so beautiful!
Here’s why the verdict may be out on the penny trick…copper! The penny needs to have real copper in it, and not all pennies are created equal! My sweet hubby made me small copper coils to toss in with tulips and gerbera daisies…it works EVERY time!!! (Just a small clip of copper works just as well!)
HTH!
You are so right Mamma Cook. I’ll have to find some real copper and give it a try. Thanks for the great tip.
I added 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to the water before putting the tulips in the vase. Seems to be helping them stay more upright. So far so good.
Tulips are my absolute favorite flower, among lots of others (smile). I love what you have done and your shared information is much appreciated. Many blessings!
I love tulips too! I am always looking for bunches at the grocery store! I knew that tulips kept growing but I didn’t know how to make my tulips last longer….so I thank you!! My favorites are the mixed colored one like red with yellow or red with orange!
I just bought a dozen tulips with lavender at the grocery store yesterday for $2.50!! I couldn’t believe it! They are beautiful and this post was timely. Thanks!
Hi, Yvonne! I smiled as I read your article because I had just purchased the EXACT same tulips the other day at the grocery store! I’ve been trimming the stems daily since tulips continue to grow after they have been cut,( how weird, right?) and changing the water–especially important since I have them in a glass vase and it starts to look kind of greenish. Anyway, I love your blog and so enjoy sitting with my morning coffee and reading it. Hugs, Gabi
I have always added vodka to the water … it keeps them from drooping and they seem to open slower. Add anywhere between 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon depending on the size of the vase.
It also slows down any bacteria growth.
Great tip, Joyce. I’ll have to try that!
I have never met a tulip that I did not LOVE…any variety; any color! The pin trick is new to me and it makes sense, so thanks for a very useful tip! I have had luck with the pennies, but it takes more than one coin for vases holding multiple flowers. I agree with the reader who said the copper in the penny in a key factor! Try it…
Happy Wednesday! The bunnies are hopping around here!!! I hope the beautiful dogwoods last until Easter. They are just gorgeous this year!
Hi Yvonne, I love tulips but as a former florist, they were quite a challenge to use in arrangements or wedding bouquets. The stems are so brittle and the blooms do not last long. So, I tried a trick from another florist friend that worked really good. Holding the stem, turn the tulip upside down and drip candle wax where the stem and petals join together. Be careful not to drip on your skin…ouch! The downside to this technique is that the tulips will stay closed and not open. However, once they open, they are gone fast anyway. I never tried the penny trick so will have to run an experiment to see if that is true. Thanks for the tulip tips!
Wow, Cecilia (I love your name, it’s my middle name. I wish my first name was Cecilia!!!!!) What an amazing tip. Thanks!
Yvonne, I often see you use that beautiful gray urn for silk arrangements. What are you using to keep stems upright? Florist Foam? Thanks for your beautiful decorating ideas.
Hi Marjorie, I put a tall container of tulips in the urn.
Is that what you are using for your faux flower arrangements as well?
Yes, Marjorie I do use faux and real tulips. The tulips is this post are all real.
Not sure about pennies helping tulips stay upright, but since I started putting 4-5 pennies and a dash of sugar in the water of all my cut flowers, all my flowers have lasted WAY longer and the water never turns slimy (I am lazy about changing the water and usually just top it up). It’s amazing how much longer flowers last – to the point that I am sick of them and ready to buy something new before they wilt!
Thanks for all your helpful, gorgeous posts! blessings Miss Yvonne <
Hi Elizabeth, I think the pennies we have today do not have as much copper in them as in times past. It’s the copper that helps the tulips. Thanks for the sugar tip. I’ll try it next time I get tulips… probably over the weekend.
Hi Yvonne,
My husband works for a German company and we spend a lot of time over there. One of our favourite places to go on weekends is to a Dutch market where the flower vendor told me to not put my tulips in water. See if it works for you. Angie
Lovely ideas for tulips. Generally, when I have any cut flowers, put just a drop of bleach into the water to cut down on slime. It doesn’t seem to affect the flowers at all because it’s so little. I can then let a few days go by without changing. However, I might try the sugar trick for obvious reasons. Beautiful vignette, BTW.
Along with buying fresh, tight, locally grown tulips, keeping your water and vase clean and giving the tulips a fresh stem cut every couple of days, keeping them cold and out of direct sunlight will extend their vase life. At night I keep my tulips in the garage cooler/ frig, (where we keep extra beverages, no fruit or food that gives off ethylene gases as ethylene make flowers wilt) and if I’m going to be gone all day they stay there until we get home. Sometimes if we are going to have guests on the next weekend too, ( I love fresh flowers for company) I will forego enjoying them for a couple of days and save them in the cooler. Some flowers can last weeks in a cooler, ask any florist, so use one to extend their life by putting them in one at night. Another tip is to not put them near a fruit bowl in your kitchen.
Hi Maureen, thanks for sharing this wonderful tip!!!! I put mine in the garage sometimes too.
Beautiful, thanks for the tips. I never heard of using sugar before but I will have to give it a try. Have a beautiful Easter.
I worked in a florist shop and when we washed our vases we always used just a bit of bleach to kill anything that might be growing in it !!
Have you ever come out in the morning to find your tulips have grown and they are lying down beside their container? A florist told me that you shouldn’t add more than 3 – 4 inches of water to your vase and then replenish as needed. Thus, they will stand up and never lie down. Interesting, huh? FYI
Another, great trick, to enjoying tulips longer, is to make a tiny slit at the top of the throat (stem) where the stem joins the base of the tulip, itself, the petals. Making a very tiny slit, using the tip of a small knife into the petal and continuing to the base of the “throat,” stunts the growth of tulips. Tulips will open at a much slower, pace. Thus, enjoying these beauties, longer! And, for the record, I change my water, daily as well as, throw a penny in my vase. I have heard that a penny is suppose to help keep the tulips stem, firm but, there is more… Supposedly, the copper, in the penny helps with reducing the speed, in which, the bacteria grows. If you are in doubt, throw a penny in the vase, anyway and , make a wish!
Thanks, for the tips about putting a tiny slit in the throat of a tulip. The penny trick does not work any longer as pennies have so little copper in them now.
Tulips are beautiful and a sure sign of spring.I think my favorite colored tulips are pink ones.Thanks for all the tips, will try the penny tip.
You also can put a drop of bleach or some lime/lemon soda(not any sugar free) into the vase-cuts bacteria. Also, you can use a tiny paint or pastry brush and put egg white on the petals-keeps it budding and the egg white glaze dries up so you don’t see it.
You are full of such fabulous ideas!
I’m not sure about tulips but my assorted Valentines flowers lasted two weeks . I put a few drops of bleach in the water after a week and was able to keep them another week with no slime or dirty looking water!
Hello, I enjoy reading your blog. Just another tip on tulips I learned from my garden club,adding a copper Penney to water will cause the tulips to stand up straight.
Thanks, Carolyn!
Hi: I absolutely love Tulips, thank you so much for all of the tips on how to keep tulips longer, I will try them. I enjoy your site very much, please continue with your special talents. Marilyn
Love your blog!
I recently watched a video by a florist who shared his secret about long-lived flowers. He was not using tulips in the video, but I assume it works for all flowers. He trim the stems of cut flowers and submerge them completely in water for a bit. Sounds so odd, yet they get rained on, right? Then you spray them with Floral Life Crowning Glory (I ordered from Amazon but have not yet tried it ), a wax spray that seals in moisture and evidently makes the flowers last much longer.
And regarding pennies. Go to the bank and purchase a couple rolls of pennies and there are sure to be some old ones in the mix!
I’ve been a florist for over 35 years and so happy you posted these tips. Another thing we use with tulips is a couple of teaspoons of Vodka. It sterilizes the water and doesn’t hurt the tulips. Because we all know that the cleaner the water the better the tulips will last. BTW, love your blog.
Wow! I’ve never heard of Vodka. I’ll give it a try! Thanks so much!
Do you treat French Tulips the same way to keep them fresh? The French Tulips have always been my favorite due to their beauty and fluffiness.
Thanks so much for all of your tips. You have such good taste in everything!
Pamela
Hi Pamela, yes treat all tulips the same. I love the too!
Your photography is delicious
How sweet! What a scrumptious comment Susan!
Could you share where you found the lovely blue footed bowl? I’m trying to locate something similar
Thank you.
Hi Bettie, the Gardeneria is an antique. I love it but I have no idea where you can find one that is similar.
Yvonne, thanks again for your post about caring for tulips. Love cut tulips. In the picture with the 3 square vases with tulips, eggs were featured on the tray. Did you make those? How cute.
The eggs? No, I found those online years ago.
I don’t understand if you could please help. Cut them below the flower? When they start closing and drooping? How far down? and they will grow back? Please let me know everything you can
Laurie
Tulips continue to grow even when they are cut. So keep cutting them. Trim about an inch off the bottom to keep the water flowing up the stem. Hope this helps.
Why do my store bought tulips continue to bloom but their leaves turn brown and crinkle at their ends?
It’s just part of their aging process. Snip, and round off those ends with a pair of scissors. Hope this help.