How to Transport Cut Flowers So They Arrive Fresh
The best way to transport cut flowers is to keep the stem ends wet, the bouquet upright and secured, and the temperature moderate: no hot car, no direct sun, no frost on the petals. For a short drive a container with a few centimetres of water does the job; for a longer trip, a wet paper pack sealed in plastic around the stems keeps the flowers drinking until you put them in a vase.
Customers in our Saint Petersburg shops ask about this almost every day, usually while we are wrapping the bouquet: how to get it to the dacha, to a restaurant across the city, or to a relative in another town. Here is what we tell them, organised by situation, along with the flowers that travel best and the ones that need extra care.
Prepare the bouquet before you leave
Flowers that have had a good drink before the trip survive it far better. If you bought the bouquet yourself, recut the stems with a sharp knife, remove every leaf that would sit below the waterline and stand the flowers in cool water for an hour or two. Our guides on the right way to cut flower stems at home and on how to strip leaves below the waterline show both steps in detail.
For the journey, ask for a water pack: damp paper or cotton wool around the cut ends, sealed in a plastic bag and tied. It adds almost no weight and gives the bouquet several hours of moisture. A tall paper bag or a cardboard box protects the heads from knocks and from the wind, which dries petals surprisingly fast.
Keep ethylene in mind. Fruit, especially apples and bananas, releases a gas that makes flowers drop petals and open too quickly. Never pack a bouquet in the same bag or boot as a fruit basket, even if both are gifts for the same person.
Winter and summer: the two dangerous seasons
In a Saint Petersburg winter the main risk is frost, combined with wind from the Neva and the Gulf. Even a few minutes outside at serious minus temperatures can freeze delicate petals, and the damage shows only later, when the flowers darken and turn glassy indoors. Always carry a winter bouquet fully wrapped in several layers, go straight from a warm room to a warm car or metro station, and unwrap it only indoors.
In summer the opposite happens. A car parked in the sun becomes extremely hot inside within minutes, and flowers in that air wilt and age at high speed. Never leave a bouquet in a parked car, not even while you buy a cake, and keep it away from the windscreen and rear window, where sun hits hardest. Air conditioning or an open window during the drive makes a big difference.
Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons. A cool boot or a shaded back seat keeps flowers fresh for hours, and you mainly need to protect them from knocks and from drying out.
Bouquets we can deliver
By car: where to put the flowers
The footwell behind the front passenger seat is the most stable place in a car. Stand the bouquet in a bucket, a jar or a cut plastic bottle with a little water and wedge it with a bag or a folded towel so it cannot tip when you brake. Three to five centimetres of water is enough; more only splashes.
If the bouquet must lie down, put it on the back seat on a towel, flowers towards the centre, and keep everything else away from it. Do not put it on the front passenger seat, where it slides at every turn, and never under shopping bags. A box arrangement or a basket with floral foam is the easiest option for long drives, because it already holds water and stands on its own.
On foot and on the metro
Carry the bouquet upright, flowers up, holding it below the binding point. Carrying it upside down bends the necks of roses and gerberas and lets water from the stems run into the wrap. In crowded metro carriages and on escalators, hold the bouquet close to your body with the heads at chest height, where they are least likely to be crushed by bags and doors.
Underground stations are warm in winter and the street is cold, so the bouquet goes through sharp temperature changes. Keep it wrapped for the whole trip and do not open the packaging to check the flowers on the platform. If the journey is longer than an hour, a water pack on the stems is essential, and a bottle with a little water hidden in the bag is a good backup.
Which flowers travel well and which need care
Chrysanthemums, carnations, alstroemeria, eustoma, spray roses and most standard roses tolerate travel well, and they are what we recommend when a customer says the bouquet has a long way to go. Tulips are fine if they stay cool and upright, but they keep growing and bending towards light, so they look best when placed in a vase soon after arrival.
Lilies, hydrangeas, gerberas, open peonies and anemones are the most fragile. Lily petals bruise easily and their pollen stains clothes and other flowers, so ask the florist to remove the anthers before the trip. Hydrangeas lose water through their large heads very quickly and should not be out of water for long. For these flowers, the shorter the journey, the better the result.
After the trip: the first hour decides
Unwrap the flowers indoors, remove the water pack and recut each stem by one or two centimetres. Put them into a clean vase with water at room temperature, which most cut flowers absorb better than ice-cold water; see our article on the best water temperature for fresh-cut flowers in a vase. Place the vase away from radiators, which in Russian apartments are often very hot in winter, and away from direct sun.
If a few flowers look tired, leave the vase in the coolest room for a couple of hours before you display it. Roses with drooping heads usually recover if you recut them, wrap the bouquet tightly in paper so the heads are held straight and stand it in deep water for two to three hours.
Or skip the transport altogether
When the recipient is in another part of the city or in another Russian city, it is often simpler to order delivery. Pyat Tsvetov has been working since 2011 and has three own flower shops in Saint Petersburg, and we deliver flowers across Russia. City delivery costs 500 RUB; for remote districts and suburbs the operator confirms the price when confirming the order. In Saint Petersburg delivery is around the clock.
In large cities express delivery takes 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, or you can choose an exact time with a margin of 30 minutes, a window of 09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21, or a pre-order 1-30 days ahead. The courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival; if nobody answers the door, we agree a second delivery the same day or hand the flowers to a neighbour or concierge with your consent. Delivery is anonymous by default and a card with your text is free.
You can pay online by bank card, SBP or Yandex Pay, and foreign bank cards are accepted through Robokassa. Choose a bouquet in the Bouquets catalogue, and if you have questions about timing or the address, call us on 8 (812) 507-67-05. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can cut flowers travel without water?
For a short trip, yes, but stems dry out quickly. For anything longer than an hour, use a wet paper pack sealed around the stem ends or a container with a little water.
How do I protect flowers from frost on the way?
Keep the bouquet wrapped in several layers for the entire trip and move quickly between warm places. Unwrap it only once you are indoors.
Where is the best place for flowers in a car?
The footwell behind the front passenger seat, upright in a container with a little water and wedged so it cannot tip. Keep the car cool and out of the sun.
Which flowers are best for a long journey?
Chrysanthemums, carnations, alstroemeria, eustoma and spray roses are the most robust. Lilies, hydrangeas and gerberas are the most fragile.
What should I do with flowers right after arrival?
Recut the stems, put them into clean room-temperature water and keep them in a cool place for an hour or two before displaying them.
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