When you bring a vase of flowers home, you’re probably hoping they last more than a few days. Selecting flowers that were harvested at the right time and quickly shipped is one way to arrive at long-lasting flowers, but choosing the right types of blooms is just as important. That’s because each type of flower has a unique vase life.
If you want to enjoy flowers that remain fresh for more than a week, it’s important to start with varieties that are known for their long vase life. When you order long-lasting flowers and keep them in the proper environment, you’ll help you end up with a bouquet that remains beautiful for at least a week.
Ranunculus
Growing zones: 8-10
Light: Full sun
Water: Moderate
Bloom time: Spring
Ranunculus weren’t always a popular cut flower, but they’ve made their way onto the cut flower scene in the last decade. These spring beauties are known for their layers and layers of delicate petals that slowly open over time. You can find ranunculus in many colors, including white, yellow, and every shade of pink.
Ranunculus have a vase life of 7-12 days, depending on when they were cut. If you’re growing some of these flowers at home, aim to harvest when the colorful buds feel squishy like a marshmallow. Waiting until the flowers are fully open will lead to a decreased vase life.
You may also be able to find the less common butterfly ranunculus. These flowers have open petals that resemble the delicate wings of a basking butterfly. Each stem contains multiple flowers that continue to open over time; removing the spent flowers and allowing the younger buds to bloom will help butterfly ranunculus look fresh for two weeks.
Alstroemeria
Growing zones: 8-10
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Moderate to high
Bloom time: Late spring through fall
Also known as Peruvian lilies, alstroemeria adds a tropical touch to arrangements. The flowers have a trumpet shape that makes them resemble small lilies, even though the plants are in an entirely different family. Alstroemeria comes in colors including white, pink, purple, and yellow, and most flowers have a smattering of small streaks on their upper petals.
Alstroemeria lasts one to two weeks after it’s cut. Since each stem contains multiple flowers, you can usually enjoy the fresh blooms for a couple of weeks. Just remove the wilted and fading flowers in order to give the newer blooms room to shine.
Celosia
Growing zones: 10-11
Light: Full sun
Water: Moderate
Bloom time: Early summer into fall
A staple of the summer cutting garden, celosia comes in numerous colors and shapes. Some varieties feature upright plumes composed of hundreds of teeny tiny flowers, while others resemble colorful brains. Since celosia is an annual that’s easy to grow at home, it’s one of the top flowers for new gardeners.
All types of celosia will last at least a week once they’re cut. These flowers also dry extremely well, so you can preserve their beauty into the colder months. Simply cut mature flowers, then hang them upside down until they are fully dry. For more details, check out our guide to drying flowers.
Chrysanthemum
Growing zones: 5-9
Light: Full sun
Water: Moderate
Bloom time: Late summer into fall
When you hear the word chrysanthemum, you may imagine pots of small flowers brightening autumn porches and planters. And while there isn’t anything wrong with these mums, you can also find other varieties that work great as cut flowers.
Heirloom chrysanthemums are a far cry from the bright decorative mums you’ll find in outdated arrangements—imagine dramatically curved petals in stunning shades of cream and cheery pompon mums in colors like salmon and burgundy.
Fortunately, the mum’s impressive vase life wasn’t sacrificed in the name of beauty. Heirloom chrysanthemums, and hybrid varieties, can easily last two to three weeks in a vase.
Roses
Growing zones: 4-9
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Moderate
Bloom time: Late spring through early fall
Roses are some of the top cut flowers, and for good reason. The classic flowers are beautiful, regardless of whether you want a romantic red tea rose or an old garden rose in a soft shade of pink. Roses look beautiful in stand-alone arrangements, but they also pair well with flowers like lilies, carnations, and alstroemeria.
Since there is such a wide variety within roses, don’t expect all of these flowers to last the same amount in a vase. If you want to grow roses at home and enjoy them indoors, choose a variety known for its long-lasting flowers. Purchasing a bouquet of roses will typically provide you with flowers that remain fresh for around one week.
Lisianthus
Growing zones: 8-10
Light: Full sun
Water: Moderate
Bloom time: Summer
A stunning summer flower, lisianthus is beloved for its beautiful and long-lasting flowers. Although the plants grow slowly and require precise care, the flowers make the trouble worth it. Each plant produces multiple bell-shaped blooms with layers of delicate petals. Look for colors including light peach, deep purple, and bicolor white and pink.
Lisianthus can last two weeks in a vase when you provide them fresh water and keep them in a cool location. Slightly open buds will continue to bloom as time goes by, but the tightly closed buds won’t change much.
Alliums
Growing zones: 3-9
Light: Full sun
Water: Low to moderate
Bloom time: Late spring through early summer
The allium family produces the fragrant onions and garlic that flavor our meals, but it also holds some beautiful flowers. While all alliums produce flowers when given the chance, some perennial alliums are grown solely for their spherical blooms. These round flowers are actually made of tons of tiny individual blooms on long flower stems. Many of these flowers are some variation of pink or purple, but you can also find white varieties.
Like with all flowers, an allium’s vase life depends on when the stem was cut and how the blooms were handled after harvest. Stems cut at the proper time and stored in cool temperatures out of direct light should last one to two weeks.
Hydrangeas
Growing zones: 3-9
Light: Full sun to shade; varieties by species
Water: Moderate
Bloom time: Late spring through early fall
While most popular cut flowers are annuals or vegetative perennials, hydrangeas grow as wood shrubs. You can find dozens of hydrangea species and even more varieties, so you can expect some variation within the flowers. Bigleaf and smooth hydrangeas produce large clusters of florets that resemble billowy clouds, panicle plants produce pyramidal-shaped groupings, and lacecap hydrangeas send out flattened, lacy flowers.
When treated correctly, hydrangeas should last at least a week in a vase. Remember to give the woody stems a fresh cut when you bring them indoors and provide them with plenty of fresh water.
Proteas
Growing zones: 9-11
Light: Full sun
Water: Low
Bloom time: Throughout the year
Although protea is common in its native South Africa, it’s a bit of a floral newcomer in the rest of the world. You’ll quickly fall in love with them if you haven’t already. There are hundreds of types of protea, but all of them have large flowers composed of pincushion-like centers surrounded by pointed bracts. They’re perfect if you want to add an element of drama or texture to arrangements.
Not only are proteas beautiful, but they’re also some of the best flowers that last long. They will easily remain looking fresh for two to three weeks.
Calla Lilies
Growing zones: 8-10
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Water: m/oderate
Bloom time: Late spring through early summer
Although lily is in their name, these flowers aren’t true lilies. Instead, they’re more closely related to plants like peace lilies and Jack-in-the-pulpit. The perennials send up vase-shaped flowers composed of a spathe and spadix. The spathe is the colorful, modified leaf that many people consider the flower, and the spadix is the upright cluster of small flowers located inside the spathe.
Calla lilies grow well as potted plants and hold up well when cut. The flowers last one to two weeks when harvested at the right time.
Send Long-Lasting Flowers for Any Occasion
When you want to send a beautiful and long-lasting bouquet, starting with high-quality flowers is essential. Even flowers that last long normally can wilt within a few days if they’ve spent a week sitting out of water in a warehouse. If you happen to end up with some of these sad blooms, it’s worth learning how to revive flowers.
If you want to enjoy fresh flowers for weeks rather than days, we’re here for you. We source our flowers from sustainable farms and then ship them right to your door…because who said the middleman wanted fresh blooms?
Shop All
