DesignsandEvents: Tips and Care Advice for Using Hydrangeas in Floral Arrangements

Having done several weddings as a floral designer, there have been many occasions where I have had to use hydrangeas in my wedding and other creations. Hydrangeas are one of the most beautiful flowers out there in my opinion but, they are very finicky, as well. Some hydrangeas can last for weeks where others will start to wilt the very next day. This is a conundrum for floral designers but, I have learned a few tricks along the way and wanted to share them with you today.

The very best advice I can give you concerning hydrangeas is to try to find the very best supplier in your area that falls within your budget. Of course, for someone like me, that would be the flower markets in Boston. They are, by far, the best source of flowers for me. However, unless you have access to a market, that is to have a license to do so, you will have to find other sources. I love Shaw's, Whole Foods and Trader Joes for commercial sources for flowers in my area. If you have a big event coming up, you could try online resources, as well. Such websites would be Fifty Flowers and Blooms by the Box. I have worked with Fifty Flowers and found them to be very reliable. They are expensive but the flowers are usually very good.

Once you have decided where you are going to go to get your flowers, I suggest you bring a bucket in which to put the flowers so that they will be as fresh as possible. I usually bring a large soda bottle or two of water and place it in the bucket sealed up until I have purchased the flowers. I add the water to the bucket after the flowers have been bought. This way you do not have water sloshing all over your car.

The next step would be to get home as quickly as possible. Don't leave the flowers in your car for any longer than necessary. Once home, fill up another bucket or more, depending on how many hydrangeas and /or other flowers you have, with water and flower food. Then, take the hydrangeas out of the water one by one and cut the stem on an angle. This is a very important step with hydrangeas.

Next you will need to make another cut right up the center of the stem you just trimmed. If the

stem is large enough; you can make another cut in the same way and create an X out of the bottom

of the stem. This allows for the maximum amount of water absorption of the flower head.

This is critical when it comes to hydrangeas. They need lots of water! Once you have filled up your bucket with flowers, place the bucket in a cool dark place, if possible. A basement works well for this. A garage is a good place in the spring and fall, as long as the temperature does not go below 37 degrees or higher than 50 degrees.

Now it is time to design. If you are using florist oasis foam to create your arrangement, it is good practice to have a container of alum at your disposal when using hydrangeas. Alum is a spice (?) that you can find at your local grocery store in the spices section. The best source I have found in my area at the best price is Market Basket but, you should be able to find it at your local grocery store, as well. If not, you can always try Amazon.

Alum usually comes in a small container so if you are using it only for floral designing you can simply us the container it comes in. Otherwise, put some of the powder in a small bowl. When you go to use the hydrangeas in your floral arrangement, cut the stem as mentioned on a slant and up the middle and immediately dip the cut stem in the container of alum and then place it where you want it to go in the oasis. Alum somehow opens up the veins (?) of the stem to allow more water to flow. I do not think you need to do this step if you are placing the stem directly into water but, that is up to you :). When the arrangement is done make sure the water level in the vessel covers all the stem ends so that all flowers receive water.

Now for the dirty little secret about hydrangeas, they have a tendency to wilt. If they do, do not panic! There is help! One method is to recut the end of the hydrangea and immediately place the stem in hot water. Supposedly, this will rehydrate your hydrangeas. I was told about this method by a farmstand-type store where I used to live. That farmstand routinely used this method with all of their hydrangeas. I saw them doing this as their hydrangeas were being placed in buckets to go for sale. That method has rarely, if ever, worked for me. In fact, I stopped buying hydrangeas from that farmstand store because I found their hydrangeas were not reliable and often could not be used because they wilted quickly. It may work for others, but it did not work for me, but I wanted to mention it for full disclosure.

Another method is to recut the stems again and dip them in alum. Place them in a separate vase for a while until they are hydrated again and then put them back into your arrangement. I have found this to work better that the hot water method, especially if they are not too wilted.

My favorite and best working method (for me) is to take the wilted stem(s), recut the end(s) and totally submerge the stem and flower head into a large tub of water. You can use your regular bathtub, sink or large container to do this. I use cool water for this method and have had great success. Usually, you need to leave the flowers in the container for several hours, overnight is optimum, if possible. I have used this method and have had hydrangeas last over a week afterwards but, most of the time, with any one of these methods the flowers last another day or two, just enough time to get through your event. You must consider that the hydrangea has been compromised by all of this but, as I said, I have had them last quite a while too. It's all hit or miss with flowers but trying to save the hydrangea is certainly worth it.

So, my advice to you is that if you have more hydrangeas in your bucket and you have an event that may be outside or one where it is critical for everything to be perfect, I would simply place a good healthy hydrangea in its place. If you do not have that luxury, I would try the alum or the submersion method and see what happens!

Hydrangeas for my money are worth the effort and worry. When they are on there are few flowers to rival their beauty. I hope this helps you out a little bit and gives you the encouragement you need to play and experiment with flowers.