Flower Care & Handling Guide

Your stems are cut to order at the farm and travel to your studio in a continuous cold chain, so they arrive with most of their vase life ahead of them. The first hours in your hands decide how that potential plays out. This guide walks through receiving, conditioning, and storing fresh-cut roses so you protect the 12+ day vase life on every box.

Receiving & inspecting your boxes

Open and check every shipment the day it arrives. Move boxes out of direct sun and away from heating or cooling vents while you work.

• Confirm box count and variety against your order and packing slip.
• Open each box and inspect for crushed heads, broken stems, mold, or signs of heat or freeze damage.
• Note the temperature of the flowers; they should feel cool, not warm or frozen.
• If anything arrives damaged or short, email photos to claims@kataleia.com within 24 hours of delivery. We resolve by refund or replacement on your next shipment.

Unpacking

• Cut sleeves and strapping carefully so you do not nick stems or petals.
• Lift bunches by the stems, never by the heads, and keep guard petals on for now.
• Keep varieties grouped and labeled so you can track lead time and event dates.
• Get stems into water quickly; do not leave them dry on the bench.

Hydration & conditioning

Proper conditioning is the single biggest factor in vase life. Work clean and work fast.

1. Wash buckets with hot water and a sanitizing cleaner, then rinse well. Bacteria in dirty buckets is the most common cause of early wilt.
2. Fill with fresh, cool water and mix flower food at the labeled dose. Cool water rehydrates roses without forcing them open.
3. Strip all foliage that would sit below the waterline. Submerged leaves rot and feed bacteria.
4. Cut at least one inch off each stem at a 45-degree angle with a clean, sharp knife or blade. The angled cut increases surface area and prevents the stem from sealing flat against the bucket bottom.
5. Let stems hydrate undisturbed for several hours, ideally overnight, before designing.
6. Change water and recut stems every two to three days, and top up flower food.

Cold storage

• Hold roses in a cooler at roughly 34 to 38°F once they are hydrated.
• Keep buckets out of the airflow path and never store flowers near fruit; ripening fruit releases ethylene, which ages blooms.
• Maintain steady humidity and avoid crowding so air can move between bunches.

Rose-specific tips

• Guard petals: the outer petals protect the bloom in transit and often look bruised. Leave them on until you are ready to design, then gently remove only the damaged outer layer.
• Bent neck: a drooping head usually means an air block, not a dead flower. Recut the stem under water and give it a deep, cool drink to restore flow.
• Opening blooms for events: roses open with warmth, time, and light. To have them at peak for a wedding or event, take delivery 2 to 3 days ahead, move them to a warmer room, and use fully open flower food or warmer water to coax them. To hold them tight, keep them cool.

Do & do not

• Do sanitize buckets and tools before every use.
• Do recut stems at an angle and change water on a schedule.
• Do use flower food at the correct dose every time.
• Do not skip conditioning or let dry stems sit on the bench.
• Do not leave foliage below the waterline.
• Do not store flowers in direct sun, near vents, or next to fruit.
• Do not strip guard petals until you design.

Follow these steps and your roses will hold their 12+ day vase life from bench to client. Browse fresh-cut varieties in the catalog, and for care questions email info@kataleia.com, and for freshness or damage claims claims@kataleia.com.