Vase Life by Flower Type: A Reference

'How long will these last?' is the question we're asked most often at our Leeds studio — and the honest answer is 'it depends on the flower.' A good, well-conditioned bunch of fresh flowers will give you 7–14 days with care, but within that window each variety keeps its own timetable. A carnation can still look crisp when a tulip alongside it has already bowed out.

This is a quick reference to the typical vase life of the blooms we work with most. Treat every figure as a range, not a promise: freshness on arrival, the warmth of your room and how you look after the stems all move the dial. Where you want longevity above everything, we'll point you to the varieties — and the everlasting options — that go the distance.

How to read these ranges

The numbers below assume flowers that were fresh when they reached you and are given basic care: clean water, a cool spot and a recut on arrival. Under those conditions, most mixed bouquets sit comfortably in that 7–14 day band, with the hardier stems carrying the arrangement well past the delicate ones.

A single guaranteed number would be misleading — a rose in a cool hallway behaves very differently from one on a sunny windowsill above a radiator. So we quote ranges, and we'd always rather set a realistic expectation than an optimistic one.

Vase life by flower type

Grouped from longest-lasting to most fleeting. All of these can feature in our fresh arrangements for Leeds and West Yorkshire delivery.

The marathon runners (often 10–14 days)

• Orchids (cut stems) — 10–14 days; among the longest-lasting cut flowers there are.
• Chrysanthemums — 10–14 days; tough, generous and slow to fade.
• Carnations — 10–14 days; often outlast everything else in the vase.
• Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily) — 10–14 days; keeps opening fresh buds as older blooms drop.
• Lisianthus — 7–10 days; rose-like and reliably long-lived.
• Eucalyptus & hardy foliage — often the full 10–14 days; the greenery usually outlives the flowers entirely.

The steady middle (roughly 5–10 days)

• Lilies — 8–12 days; buds open in sequence for a long display.
• Sunflowers — 6–12 days; thirsty, so top the water up often.
• Roses — 5–10 days; a firm, tight head lasts noticeably longer than an open one.
• Gerbera — 5–8 days; happier in shallow, very clean water.
• Freesia — 5–8 days; wonderfully scented as the florets open.
• Snapdragons — 5–8 days; the lower florets fade first.
• Anemones — 5–8 days; keep growing and drinking after cutting.

The fleeting favourites (about 3–7 days)

• Tulips — 5–7 days; they keep growing and bending towards the light, which is part of their charm.
• Peonies — 5–7 days; buy them in tight bud for the fullest show.
• Ranunculus — 5–7 days; delicate, papery layers.
• Hydrangea — 5–7 days; exceptionally thirsty and prone to wilting if it runs dry.
• Daffodils — 5–7 days; give them their own vase (their sap shortens other flowers' lives).
• Sweet peas — 3–5 days; brief but beautifully fragrant.

What actually shifts the numbers

The variety sets the ceiling; care decides whether you reach it. A few habits make the biggest difference:

• Recut the stems at an angle before they go in the vase, and again every couple of days.
• Change the water when it clouds, and strip any leaves that would sit below the waterline — that's where bacteria breed.
• Keep them cool. Away from radiators, direct sun and the fruit bowl (ripening fruit gives off ethylene, which ages flowers fast).

The single most useful thing you can do is give thirsty stems — hydrangea, sunflowers, tulips — plenty of fresh, clean water. Most 'early' wilting is simply dehydration.

For the full method, see our flower care guide: clean water, a cool spot and a fresh recut on arrival will carry most stems to the top of their range, and coaxing a flagging bloom back to life is often simpler than you'd expect. If you're choosing a bouquet specifically for longevity, you'll find more in our flower-care guides.

A note on pets, allergies and everlasting flowers

Vase life isn't the only consideration in some homes. If you share yours with cats or dogs, a few common cut flowers are best avoided: true lilies (Lilium and Hemerocallis) are highly toxic to cats, and tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, hydrangea, chrysanthemum, ranunculus and ivy are commonly listed as toxic or irritant to cats and/or dogs. Others — roses (true Rosa), sunflowers, snapdragons, orchids, freesia and lisianthus — are generally considered non-toxic. This is general guidance, not a medical guarantee: always check the ASPCA or Blue Cross plant lists, or ask your vet, before bringing greenery into a pet home.

Where safety, allergies or sheer longevity matter most, there's a lovely alternative with no vase life to track at all: our everlasting flowers. Our hand-crocheted flowers are made from inert yarn — pollen-free, with nothing to ingest — and our preserved flowers are pollen-free too (beautiful, but not edible). Both are handmade to order and shipped UK-wide, and both simply last. If a worry-free bouquet is the goal, our allergy-friendly options are a gentle place to start.

Whatever you're marking, you can browse the full range in our shop or by occasion under flowers for. For fresh flowers there's no strict cut-off — get in touch and we'll do our best for same-day delivery across Leeds, subject to availability. For dated occasions and peak seasons, we dispatch promptly and always recommend ordering ahead.