datsy wrote:

I know this is not really a gardening question but I thought there will be a
lot of cut flower experts out there. I regularly buy cut flowers from the
supermarket and always cut an inch or so off the bottom. They go straight
into water with the packet of crystals attached plus four drops of Bach
Rescue Remedy. With most flowers I have no problems - they last for ages,
but very often I find that roses have started to wilt overnight - so much so
that I've just about stopped buying them. Yesterday I bought some stocks, by
this morning all the leaves had wilted and a couple of the heads were down -
now they're all down. Anybody know why this happens and what I can do to
stop it because it's really frustrating?!

There is an old flower arranging trick of submerging the stems in water
and cutting off an inch or two, making the cut under water. That way you
get the xylem clean again without any airlocks in. Some woody stemmed
plants like roses can suffer particularly badly if cut in the air.

It is the opposite of what you want when taking cuttings. You want the
wound to stay open an risk the stem rotting to keep water going up to
the flower. The easiest way is to make a fresh clean cut on undamaged stem.

Regards,
Martin Brown