It's not enough to put tulips in fresh water in a vase. The colorful spring flowers will quickly hang their heads if they are not cut properly. We'll tell you here which technique you should use professionally and how to care for the cut flowers perfectly.
How do I cut tulips correctly?
To cut tulips professionally, use a clean, sharp knife and cut the stem ends straight or at an angle. Place the tulips in the water immediately. If the stem ends are brown, cut them again and regularly refill with fresh water.
Cut straight or at an angle? – How to do it right
Regardless of whether your tulips come from your own garden or were purchased in the store; Before the flowers go into the vase, they are cut. If you place the knife at an angle, the stem cross-section will increase. Since more surface area is exposed on the pathways, the tulip transports water and nutrients to the flower more quickly. This is how it works:
- Cut off any white stem parts first
- Cut the stem ends diagonally or straight with a sparkling clean, sharp knife
- Put each tulip immediately into the water
A smooth cut is more important than its alignment. Whether you hold the knife straight or at an angle is of secondary importance. Please do not use scissors as the cable tracks could be crushed.
If the stem ends are brown, please trim them again
As cut flowers, tulips use a lot more water than in beds and pots. Therefore, top up with fresh water every few days. The stressed ends of the flower stems turn brown after a while, and the water also becomes cloudy. Now take the time to remove the tulips from the vase for a recut. This measure vitalizes the flowers, which results in an extra long shelf life.
Fresh tulips have to squeak
Perfect cutting of tulips will come to nothing if you don't put fresh flowers in the vase. As a hobby gardener, you know how to assess the freshness of your tulips in the bed. However, if these are cut flowers from the store, don't just listen to the salespeople's full-bodied promises. Instead, prick up your ears. Stems and leaves make squeaking noises and you hold dewy tulips in your hands.
It's better not to replace the water completely
It is characteristic of tulips that as cut flowers in the vase they do not think about stopping growth. Rather, after cutting, cell elongation continues unabated. If the water, which has become cloudy after a few days, is completely replaced, the nutrients it contains give the flowers additional vitality. The rapid growth significantly shortens the shelf life.
We therefore recommend that you decorate tulips in a glass vase. In this way, you can quickly see the consumption so that you can top up with fresh water in a timely manner. This way you can enjoy the spring bouquet for longer.
Tip
Tulips and daffodils should not be combined in one vase. Although the two spring bloomers complement each other wonderfully visually, tulips have to pay a heavy tribute to this neighborhood. Daffodils release a substance into the water that completely clogs the ducts in tulips, causing the flowers to wither in no time.
