What Temperature Water to Put Flowers In
Put most cut flowers into lukewarm water, around 35-40°C, which feels comfortably warm on the inside of your wrist. Warm water travels up the stems faster than cold water and carries fewer air bubbles, so roses, chrysanthemums, eustoma and most mixed bouquets recover quickly after the journey. The main exception is spring bulb flowers such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, which last longer in cold water.
This is the question we hear most often in our Saint Petersburg shops when a customer collects a bouquet, so below we go through it the way we explain it at the counter: why temperature matters, which flowers want warm, cold or briefly hot water, and the daily routine that keeps a bouquet looking fresh for a week or more.
Why water temperature makes a difference
A cut stem has lost its roots, so the only way it can drink is by drawing water up through narrow vessels inside the stem. Those vessels block easily: an air bubble that gets in at the cut, or a film of bacteria, is enough to stop the flow, and the flower head starts to droop even though the vase is full. Temperature affects both problems directly.
Cold tap water holds more dissolved air than warm water, and that air can form tiny bubbles inside the stem. Warm water carries less air and moves more freely, so the stem takes it up faster in the first hours after cutting. This is why florists use warm water when they condition flowers that have spent time in transit or in a cool room.
Temperature also affects how quickly a bud opens. Warmth speeds up opening, cold slows it down. That gives you a simple tool: warm water when you want a tight bouquet to open for an occasion tonight, cool water when you want buds to stay closed and the bouquet to last longer.
Lukewarm water: the right choice for most bouquets
Roses, chrysanthemums, alstroemeria, eustoma, carnations, gerberas, freesias and most mixed bouquets do best in lukewarm water. Aim for about 35-40°C: the water should feel pleasantly warm, like a bath for a small child, never hot. If you have no thermometer, run the tap until the water is warm and test it on your wrist.
Before putting the stems in, recut them at an angle by two or three centimetres with a sharp knife or secateurs, ideally under running water so no air is drawn into the fresh cut. Strip every leaf that would sit below the water line, because submerged leaves rot within a day or two and feed bacteria.
Gerberas are the one bouquet flower we always ask customers to treat differently on depth: their soft, hairy stems rot quickly, so give them only five to seven centimetres of lukewarm water rather than a full vase. Our guide on how much water to put in a vase explains the right depth for other flowers too.
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Cold water for tulips, daffodils and hyacinths
Spring bulb flowers behave differently. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, muscari and irises open quickly and keep growing in the vase, and warm water makes them stretch, flop and drop petals sooner. Put them in cold water, straight from the tap, and add a few ice cubes on a warm day or in a heated flat.
Tulips are the flower customers bring back to us with the most questions in March. They bend towards the light and can grow several centimetres after cutting, which is normal. Cold water, a tall vase that supports the stems and a spot away from the window keep them upright much longer.
Daffodils release a sap that shortens the life of other flowers. If you are combining them with tulips, keep the daffodils in a separate container of cold water for several hours first, then add them to the arrangement without recutting their stems.
Ranunculus and anemones sit between the two groups. They come from tubers and corms rather than true bulbs, but they also open fast and dislike warmth, so cool water and a shallow fill suit them best. Change it often, since their stems soften quickly.
Hot water: a short rescue for drooping stems
Very hot water is never used for keeping flowers, but it is a useful first-aid trick. When a rose head bends over just below the bud, the stem usually has an air lock. Recut the stem, wrap the flower heads in paper to protect them from steam, and stand the bottom few centimetres of the stems in water at about 70-80°C for 30 to 60 seconds.
The heat pushes the trapped air out and clears the vessels. Then move the stems straight into a vase of cool or lukewarm water and leave them somewhere calm for a few hours. In most cases the heads lift again by evening.
The same short hot-water dip works for hydrangeas, which wilt quickly after cutting, and for flowers with milky sap such as euphorbia, where the heat seals the cut. It is not suitable for bulb flowers, gerberas or anything with soft, hollow stems.
A daily routine that keeps the water right
Change the water every one to two days, using the same temperature as the first time: lukewarm for most flowers, cold for bulbs. Rinse the vase with hot water and a drop of washing-up liquid before refilling, because the slippery film on the glass is bacteria, and recut the stems by a centimetre each time.
Use the flower food sachet if one came with the bouquet. It contains sugar to feed the flowers and a mild antibacterial agent, and it is mixed for a specific volume of water, so read the instructions rather than tipping it into whatever amount is in the vase. More detail on this is in our article on water temperature for cut flowers.
Where the vase stands matters as much as what is in it. In Saint Petersburg flats the heating is strong from October to April, and a bouquet on a windowsill above a radiator will fade in a few days whatever the water temperature. Keep flowers away from radiators, direct sun and fruit bowls, and move them to a cool room overnight if you can.
When your bouquet arrives from us
Our bouquets are made in our own flower shops in Saint Petersburg, where we have worked since 2011, and delivered by our couriers. 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, and in large cities we deliver 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, at an exact time, in a time window or on a date up to 30 days ahead.
When the bouquet arrives, give it water within the first hour: recut the stems, fill a clean vase with lukewarm water (cold for tulips) and add the flower food. If you are ordering from abroad for a relative or friend in Russia, the courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arrival, delivery is anonymous by default, and the card with your text is free.
You can choose a bouquet in our catalogue and pay online by bank card, SBP, Yandex Pay or a foreign bank card via Robokassa. If you have questions about care or delivery, call us on 8 (812) 507-67-05. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Should flowers go in warm or cold water?
Most cut flowers go in lukewarm water at about 35-40°C, which they absorb faster. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other bulb flowers do better in cold water.
Can I use water straight from the tap?
Yes, ordinary tap water is fine for cut flowers. Just adjust the temperature and add the flower food sachet if you have one.
Is hot water bad for flowers?
Keeping flowers in hot water is harmful, but a 30-60 second dip of the stem ends in water at 70-80°C can revive drooping roses and hydrangeas. Afterwards move them into cool or lukewarm water.
How often should I change the water?
Every one to two days, at the same temperature as the first fill. Rinse the vase and recut the stems by about a centimetre each time.
Does warm water make flowers open faster?
Yes. Warm water speeds up opening, while cool water slows it, so you can use temperature to time a bouquet for an occasion.
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