When the Shipment Arrives: Preparing Dutch Flowers So They Last
Flowers travel from Holland dry and chilled, and the first hours after arrival decide how long they will last. These are the steps we follow, and you can follow them in your shop.
- Open the boxes as soon as they arrive and keep them somewhere cool, out of the sun.
- Wash the buckets with soap or a disinfectant: bacteria block the stems and shorten vase life.
- Cut 2 to 3 cm off every stem at an angle with a sharp knife or shears, and strip any leaves that would sit under water.
- Put the flowers in clean water with flower food and let them drink for at least two hours before arranging.
- Most flowers keep best between 2 and 8 °C. Orchids and anthurium dislike the cold; keep them above 12 °C.
- Keep flowers away from fruit and vegetables: they give off ethylene gas, which wilts flowers fast, carnations especially.
- On lilies, remove the orange pollen as soon as each flower opens so it does not stain the petals.
- Tulips keep growing after cutting and bend towards the light, so allow for that in your arrangements.
If an item arrives with a problem, photograph it and send it to us within 6 hours of delivery, and we will replace it or refund you.
Orders in by Sunday 5 pm arrive with the Tuesday shipment, and we deliver them within Riyadh on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Holland varieties
Dutch Tulips · Dutch Roses · Dutch Spray Roses · Dutch Peonies · Dutch Ranunculus · Dutch Hydrangea · Dutch Calla Lilies · Dutch Lisianthus · Dutch Lilies · Dutch Orchids · Dutch Protea · Dutch Gypsophila