When Bad Things Happen To Good Flowers
One of the most often asked questions is “does it come with a flower guarantee they will live longer?” We do guarantee you will satisfied and offer a 30 day money back guarantee. But we can’t guarantee how long flowers will actually live because we can’t control how your flowers were treated before you bought them. Because chances are, your dead flower is probably the fault of someone thousands of miles away.
Most Flowers Come From A Land Far Far Away
And May Have Had A Rough Journey
The primary reason no one will give a hard and fast flower guarantee is fresh cut flowers often travel a long distance before they get to your local florist or grocery store. Maybe even half way around the world from where you are.
That trip can impact how long your flowers are going to live no matter what you do.
Where are the most flowers grown?
How well they handle the trip, and how long you can expect them to live after you get them home, will depend on how well they are treated on the way. That’s why the dead flower problem is so common and no one offers a flower guarantee. It is virtually impossible to guarantee flowers: there are too many variables.
Most flowers will be treated with a commercial preservative (much like the free packet you get when you buy flowers). This formula helps flowers take in water and stay fresh in transit.
The Free Packet You Get When You Buy Flowers
Why The Free Packet Won't Be a Flower Guarantee To Freshness Either
Wilting, dropping petals and a quick death can leave you disappointed with any flower purchase.
And the sad fact is, you don’t know how long your flowers have been sitting on a shelf. There is no “sell by” date on flowers.
But it’s not impossible to improve on the shelf life of flowers. You just have to do the right thing.
Flower Boosters vs Free Packet vs Plain Water
From left to right: Flower Boosters, Free Packet, Plain Water
Each version got the same purified spring water, the ends were cut on the stems and they were placed in a cool room at 75 degrees.
So, why did plain water go so wrong?
In general, tulips don’t like a lot of sugar so in theory, both Flower Boosters and the “free packet” should not have done better than plain water. But after a long trip, they are probably needing a little carbs to perk them up.
Both Flower Boosters and the free packet you get with your flower will help with a little carb loading after a long trip.
But they don’t like too much. That could be why the commercial solution made the flower still droop a little compared to Flower Boosters which does not depend on just a “sugar high” to make flowers perky. Flower Boosters also gives them a little boost of caffeine which helps in a way sugar alone can’t.
Tulips In paricular
Tulips Are Not Just Another Flower
As I said before, tulips are not particularly fond of carbs. So they don’t really need cut flower food to do well. But they may need a boost when you first get them home.
But what tulips do need is lots and lots of fresh clean water.
For tulips, I recommend using just 1/4 of a tablet for Flower Boosters in a vase for the first 24 hours. Then changing the water every day and to make sure they always have fresh clean water. For tulips, this is even more important than for a mixed bouquet which can often go 2-3 days before changing the water to stay their freshest.
Lots of fresh, clean water. Your tulips will thank you for it!
Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat
Even When Things Go Wrong You Can Still Win
All the flowers we brought home from a big box store failed in this comparison I set up to video for social media.
After less than 48 hours, each and every stem was dropping petals, wilting and generally dying an ugly death regardless of what solution they were placed in. We didn’t have a problem with just one dead flower. We had a every flower turn into a dead flower.
When anything dies within 24-48 hours it’s usually a problem with care of the flowers before you bought them, or how old they were at purchase. Now, there are exceptions to this. Sometimes the advice of the internet can be very wrong. I have other blog posts that debunk some of the bad advice out there where I followed internet advice and killed flowers in less than 24 hours with aspirin. If the stems turn black over night, it’s something in the water.
But in general, if your flowers die this quickly using water, the free packet they come with, or Flower Boosters, we recommend taking them back to the store for an exchange. While there may be no stated flower guarantee at most retailers, I’ve always found customer service to be quite reasonable. This is especially true at big box stores like Costco and it’s a hidden benefit of having a membership card.
And as long as you have a receipt, and you show up, in person, back at the retail store within a 48 hours, a good retailer will respond to this as reasonable and will make the exchange without question.
But it’s also important you show up with the proof. Don’t stroll in a week after purchase and complain the flowers died in 2 days. It’s important you make the decision to exchange flowers easy for any reasonable person to justify.
My distance from Costco, and high gas prices, means it was not worth it for me to return these since with the price of gas, I would spend more than the cost of the flowers to make the trip.
So I went another route and made some potpourri. I keep a shoe box for flowers petals so the natural scent of the flowers (or the enhanced smell from Flower Boosters) can live in a decorative bowl giving a subtle scent to the room and providing a flower guarantee of enjoyment long after the fresh flowers are gone.
You are basically giving a dead flower a second life! I’m still disappointed, but at least I feel like the flowers were not a total waste.
make cut Flowers Last longer
Ordinary Flower Food Or Internet Recipes Won't Do it
Use Flower Boosters for the win.
Enhanced with caffeine, Flower Boosters gives your cut flowers an extra burst of energy and makes them live longer — and stronger – – than ever before.
Better than water alone, better than the free packets or internet folk recipes. Flower Boosters makes your cut flowers live their very best life!
