Garden rose care
The garden rose is the workhorse of the luxury bouquet. Multi-petalled, scented, and built to last. Treated well, a single stem holds its shape across the full life of the arrangement.
Season
Year-round
Vase life
Long
Sourcing
Direct from growers
Difficulty
Easy
How to care for them
Re-cut each stem at a sharp angle, ideally under running water. Strip the leaves below the waterline — submerged foliage rots and clouds the water. Use a tall vase that supports the heads. Cool water is what you want; no warm baths, no additives needed.
Refresh the water every two days. Re-cut a small slice off each stem each time you change the water — it keeps the uptake open. Keep the vase out of direct sun and away from radiators. Pinch off any petals that finish before their neighbours.
A bent neck under the bloom is the classic rose problem — the stem has air-blocked. Submerge the entire stem and bloom in cool water for forty minutes (a clean sink works), then re-cut and return to a fresh vase. Most bent-neck roses recover fully.
Common questions
Garden roses are old-fashioned varieties bred for multi-petalled, fragrant blooms — closer in look to what grows in a country garden than the tight, single-headed roses sold cheaply. They open into a fuller, more romantic shape and almost always have scent.
An air bubble has lodged in the stem and is blocking water reaching the bloom. The fix is full submersion: lay the whole rose, head and all, in a sink of cool water for forty minutes. Then re-cut the stem and return to fresh water. Works the great majority of the time.
Three rules. Re-cut the stems every couple of days at a sharp angle. Change the water before it clouds. Keep them somewhere cool and out of direct sun. Hotel-lobby vases by sunny windows are exactly what kills roses fastest.
Optional. The sachet supplied with the bouquet helps in a vase you cannot refresh often. If you are changing the water every two days anyway, plain water and a clean vase do the job.
Many days with the right care: cool water, regular refreshes, and a cool spot. Heat is the enemy. Every order is covered by our Stem freshness promise.
Roses themselves are not toxic to cats or dogs. The thorns can cause cuts inside the mouth if pets chew the stems, and the foliage is unpleasant to digest, but the flower is safe.
Often, yes. Re-cut the stem under running water, then submerge the whole rose in cool water for forty minutes. If the petals are crisp and browning, it has gone too far — but a soft, drooping head is usually recoverable.
Pairs beautifully with
