Have you ever wished to prolong the life of a bouquet you received? Maybe you want to preserve flowers from your wedding, have a holiday flower arrangement you love, or maybe you have a Bouq that stole your heart and you want to extend its life. Flowers make a great gift, whether they are for a loved one or you got them for yourself to treat yo’ self. Unfortunately, as all living things do, flowers eventually wilt, so even with excellent flower care and flower food, they are temporary and won’t produce new growth on their own.
Did you know you can plant that flower bouquet and grow fresh flowers from it? That’s right – you can actually take trimmings from a bouquet and learn how to replant flowers with them. It’s not as simple as plopping that old bouquet into the soil but rooting old bouquet flowers isn’t magic. Everyone can learn how to do it!
The process is called propagation, where you take trimmings off of other plants to replant and make new plants. It’s known to all the master gardeners that work in flower production, but it’s not a secret. All you need are some fresh flowers to start with, and you are on your way to knowing how to plant flowers with your Bouq.
Flowers that can Root from Cuttings
- Camellias
- Honeysuckles
- Roses
- Hydrangeas
- Azaleas
- Asters
- Chrysanthemums
- Lavender
- Mint
- Artemisia
- Dahlias
- Rosemary
- Lilac
- Wisteria
First Step: Find the flower’s nodes
The first step in knowing how to grow flowers from a bouquet is identifying the flower’s nodes. Nodes are where new roots are going to grow from the trimming. An easy way to locate nodes on a flower is by locating the base of a bud, leaf, twig, or branch. If you cannot find nodes on the stem, it’s likely that you won’t be able to replant those flowers.
Once you locate the leaf node, cut the stem right below it. Trim remaining leaves off the stem. Then, you will dip the bottom into a rooting hormone. You can find rooting hormones at most nurseries or order it online.
Second Step: Find the Right Planting Medium
The next important step in knowing how to replant flowers is finding the right thing to plant them in.
Fill your chosen pot with several inches of a soilless gardening mix like vermiculite or perlite. These work best because of their airy quality and good drainage.
Now comes the actual planting of the flower. Start by poking a hole in the gardening mix before you put the stem in. This way the rooting hormone on the stem will remain intact. Place the stem into the hole.
When you repot flower trimmings, humidity helps the flower flourish. To create a miniature greenhouse effect, place the pot in a plastic bag. Just don’t let the actual trimming touch the bag. Leave room for it to (eventually) grow!
Third Step: Plant Care
At this point, the most important thing when it comes to knowing how to grow flowers from a bouquet is to be patient. This is an imperfect process, and it can take days or even months for new roots to develop. In the meantime, water the plant when the top layer of the planting medium you’ve chosen becomes dry. Remove dead or dying leaves, so that if a fungus develops, it will not spread.
Once the plant develops roots, it will need to be repotted. You will be able to tell that the plant trimming has developed roots by very gently pulling on the top of the plant. If the trimming pops right out, it’s not ready. If there is a little bit of resistance, roots have formed and it’s ready for its new home! Repot the plant in moist (not wet) potting soil. At this point, care for your regrown plant as normal.
How to Grow Flowers from a Bouquet: Tips and Tricks
The fresher the plant or flower, the better. If your bouquet is already dying, chances are you won’t be able to replant anything from it. If you can clip trimmings off an already planted flower, this is your best bet at being able to replant it.
Sometimes, bouquets will be strategically picked so there are no nodes left on the flowers. You won’t be able to replant from these bouquets. Patience, patience, patience! You may have to try a couple of times before you can get one to root.
There are plenty of reasons to give or receive a fresh Bouq: birthdays, holidays, graduation, Valentine’s Day… the list goes on. Any time is a good time to receive fresh flowers. Some people think buying someone flowers is a waste of time and money because, eventually, the bouquet will die and have to be thrown out. Chances are these people don’t know how to plant flowers from a bouquet!
Reading about how to replant flowers may seem crazy, but we hope our guide has convinced you that – with some perseverance – this is one kind of magic you can believe in. Just think – by mastering how to plant flowers from a bouquet, you’ve given yourself a gift that keeps on giving, and can even cut new Bouqs from the blooms that grow from the old one!
So next you’re looking at buying flowers online, remember that you can repurpose that beautiful bouquet into a new addition to your garden. Whether you want to plant a favorite flower or try a rare and unusual flower, we can help you with all things floral-related. Make sure to check out our flower care tips so your fresh-cut flowers stay as happy and you prolong their vase life.
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