Tips for cutting specific flowers

Here are tips for specific flowers. Unless otherwise noted, cut on an angle.

November

Bittersweet

What to do: Doesn’t need water. But if you want it in a bouquet, angle cut.

How long it’ll last: Indefinitely. Really.

Cockscomb

What to do: Remove leaves. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: Week or less.

Dutch antique hydrangeas

What to do: Remove all leaves. Cut. Cool to room-temp water. Or let them dry in an empty vase. (When cutting, make a clean vertical split 1/2-inch up from the stem’s end.)

How long it’ll last: One week, fresh. Dries easily: Leave in vase, let water evaporate, and you could have the mop heads for years. Honest.

Ranunculus

What to do: Remove leaves. Cold water. If it’s superlimp, lay all stems in one direction on newspaper. Wrap loosely with twine. Put back in water, and leave in fridge overnight. They’ll be perky by morning.

How long it’ll last: A week.

Rosehips

What to do: Cut. Doesn’t need water.

How long it’ll last: A month or longer.

Sea holly

What to do: Cut. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: Two weeks.

Sedum “Autumn Joy”

What to do: Remove leaves. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: A week.

Yarrow

What to do: Remove leaves. Cut. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: One week to 10 days.

December

Amaryllis

What to do: Cut. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: Two weeks. (Often lasts longer cut than on the bulb.)

Calla lilies

What to do: If droopy, cut, wrap in newspaper and toss in fridge overnight. Otherwise, just cut. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: Two weeks.

Gardenia foliage

What to do: Cut. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: A week.

Roses

What to do: Remove all leaves, except at the crown. Remove thorns (don’t use a scraping tool, it’s too easy to damage the stem); snapping off with your thumb isn’t hard. Cut. Warm water bath (the exception to the no-warm-water rule; this is a florists’ trick to coax open the buds), then into cool water.

How long it’ll last: One and a half weeks.

Southern magnolia leaves

What to do: Simple cut.

How long it’ll last: Two weeks.

Star of Bethlehem

What to do: Cut. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: Three weeks. (Florists quip that these stars have “the shelf life of government cheese.” Big bank for your buck.)

Trachelium

What to do: Cut. Cool water.

How long it’ll last: 10 days.

Winterberry

What to do: Cut. Remove leaves, if any.

How long it’ll last: Indefinitely.

Sources: “Garden Bouquets and Beyond,” floral designers Randy McKinley and Sam McGee, “Cut Flowers of the World”