While I no longer follow strict disciplines of Japanese “ikebana” (flower arrangement; I was never really good at it), I picked up a few ideas that will likely help keep your cut flowers looking fresh longer, such as:
- If you can, choose a bunch with mostly buds, rather than with fully opened flowers.
- Before you place flowers in a vase, submerge stems in a large bowl of fresh water and cut about 1/2 to 1 inch end of each stem diagonally in the water. Repeat the process every other day.
- If you can, change water once every other day, or in summer, everyday.
- In changing water, before putting flowers back in a vase, wash out bacteria from the bottom of stems.
- If your room is dry, give it light spray of water once or twice a day, especially for delicate flowers like iris and peony.
- If a flower has become limp (happens often with roses), give it a fresh, longer cut and turn it upside down and run water through about 30 seconds.
Full disclosure – I try, but do not get to follow the steps every time myself!
It depends on the flower – peony, iris, lilac, and hydrangea tend to go pretty fast, while lily and tulip may to last longer.
Peony on Day 1 
Peonies on Day 3 + Lilies on Day 7
Enjoy!
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