How Long Do Flowers Last in a Vase?

Most fresh cut flowers last between 5 and 14 days in a vase. Delicate blooms such as tulips, peonies and sweet peas usually give you 4 to 7 days, roses and lilies around 7 to 12, while chrysanthemums, alstroemeria and carnations can stay fresh for two to three weeks. The real number depends on how fresh the stems were when cut, how warm your room is and how often you change the water.

As florists we hear this question every day, usually from someone who has just sent a bouquet and wants to know how long it will make the recipient smile. Below you will find a realistic timeline for popular flowers, what happens inside a stem after cutting, and the simple daily routine that can add several days to any arrangement.

Vase life by flower: a realistic timeline

Here is what you can expect at normal room temperature (around 20-22 C) with clean water changed every one to two days. Chrysanthemums and spray chrysanthemums: 14-21 days. Alstroemeria: 10-14 days, with new buds opening along the way. Carnations: 10-20 days. Roses: 7-12 days, depending on the variety and head size. Lilies: 10-14 days for the whole stem, because the buds open one after another. Gerberas: 6-10 days. Tulips: 4-7 days. Peonies: 4-7 days once open. Hydrangeas: 5-9 days if you keep them well watered. Sunflowers: 6-10 days.

Notice that the ranges are wide. A rose bought at the start of its life and kept in a cool hallway can easily outlast a rose cut a week earlier and placed on a sunny windowsill. Spray varieties, with several flowers per stem, often feel longer-lasting because when one head fades you remove it and the others carry on.

Greenery matters too. Eucalyptus, pistacia and ruscus frequently outlive the flowers they were paired with. When the blooms fade, many people keep the foliage in a smaller vase for another week. For individual flowers we have deeper guides, for example on making roses last up to two weeks; lilies follow the same logic, with each opening bud renewing the stem.

Why cut flowers fade: what happens inside the stem

A cut flower is still alive. It keeps breathing, drinking and using up the sugars stored in its petals and stem. The two things that end its life are a lack of water reaching the head and running out of energy. Everything you do in caring for a bouquet is about solving one of those two problems.

Water stops reaching the flower mainly because of bacteria. Within a day or two, cloudy water fills with microbes that block the tiny vessels at the base of the stem. The head then wilts even though the vase is full. This is why a rose suddenly droops its neck: the stem is blocked, not dry. Air bubbles do the same if a stem sits out of water for too long after cutting.

Energy runs out faster in warmth. Heat speeds up a flower's metabolism, so a bouquet next to a radiator or in direct sun lives faster and shorter. Fruit is another hidden enemy: ripening apples and bananas release ethylene gas, which makes carnations, alstroemeria and many other flowers age and drop petals sooner.

Bouquets we can deliver

Bouquet of 1 yellow sunflowers

$12

Bouquet of 3 red gerberas

$20

Bouquet of 3 white matthiola

$22

Bouquet of 3 pink matthiola

$22

The first hour: how to set up a bouquet so it lasts

The first hour after a bouquet arrives decides a lot. Start with a vase that is truly clean: scrub it with hot water and a drop of washing-up liquid, because leftover film from the last bouquet is full of bacteria. We explain the method step by step in our guide on cleaning a vase between bouquets.

Fill the vase about two-thirds with cool or room-temperature water. Remove every leaf that would sit below the waterline, since submerged leaves rot quickly. Then trim each stem by 1-2 cm at a sharp angle with a clean knife or secateurs. A diagonal cut gives a larger drinking surface and stops the stem resting flat on the bottom of the vase.

If the bouquet came with a sachet of flower food, use it: it contains sugar to feed the flowers and a mild antibacterial agent to keep the water clear. Woody stems such as hydrangea or lilac benefit from a short vertical split at the base. Finally, if a bouquet arrives in a box with a water sponge or an aqua pack, you can leave it as it is for the first day, but it will last longer if you move it into a vase.

Daily care that adds days, not hours

Change the water every one to two days, not just top it up. Topping up keeps the bacteria and simply dilutes them. Every second day, also re-trim the stems by about 1 cm, which opens fresh vessels and restores water flow. This small routine alone can add three to five days to most bouquets.

Choose the spot carefully. The ideal place is bright but out of direct sun, away from radiators, heaters, air conditioning vents and the fruit bowl. At night you can move the vase to the coolest room in the home; florists keep their flowers cold for exactly this reason.

Remove fading flowers as soon as you see them. A dying bloom releases ethylene and speeds up its neighbours. With large mixed bouquets it is often worth taking the arrangement apart after a few days and regrouping the strongest stems into smaller vases, as we describe in our article on splitting a mixed bouquet into individual vases.

Rescuing a drooping flower

A rose with a bent neck can often be saved. Recut the stem under running water, wrap the head and stem tightly in paper so it stands straight, and place it in deep cool water for a few hours. In many cases the flower lifts again and gives you several more days.

Hydrangeas that have gone limp respond well to a full soak: submerge the whole head in cool water for 30-60 minutes, then return it to the vase. Tulips are different. They keep growing after cutting and bend towards the light, so turning the vase daily keeps them more upright. A drooping tulip is usually not dying, just moving.

If petals drop at the slightest touch or the water smells unpleasant even after a change, the flower has reached the end of its life. At that point it is better to remove it and give the remaining stems a fresh start.

Sending flowers that will last: what to know before you order

If you are ordering flowers for someone in Russia from abroad, vase life is part of the gift. For a long-lasting present, choose bouquets built around chrysanthemums, alstroemeria, carnations or lilies with closed buds. Peonies and tulips are beautiful, but think of them as a gift for a week rather than a fortnight. You can browse options in our bouquets catalogue.

With Turboflora the bouquet travels a short way: in large cities we offer express delivery 1-2 hours after the order is confirmed, or delivery at an exact time (plus or minus 30 minutes), in a time window (09-12, 12-15, 15-18 or 18-21), or pre-ordered 1-30 days ahead. City delivery costs 500 RUB. The courier calls the recipient about 15 minutes before arriving, so the flowers do not wait outside.

A free card with your text is a good place for a short care tip, for example: change the water every two days. If you want to agree the bouquet, the time or the card text, or receive a photo of the bouquet before delivery, message our manager on WhatsApp. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.