How We Keep Flowers Fresh in Phoenix

Phoenix is the hardest city in the country to deliver flowers in. Most of what decides whether an arrangement still looks good a week later happens before it reaches you, in the hours nobody sees.

It starts with what we buy

Fresh flowers are bought, not made. We order from our suppliers almost every day rather than filling a cooler once a week, and every delivery is checked when it arrives: stems, heads, leaves, the state of the water they travelled in. Anything that will not hold is turned away at that point rather than sold. Inside the company that check is the rule nothing gets past.

Cold from the bench to the door

Every stem is conditioned and held in our walk-in cooler before it is designed. The finished arrangement goes straight back into cold storage and waits there until the driver takes it. Our van has a refrigerated compartment built into it, not a cooler bag and not a bucket of ice on the floor, so the flowers never warm up, cool down and warm up again.

From May through September we hold an arrangement rather than leaving it outside, unless you tell us the spot is safe. Ten minutes on a doorstep in July undoes all of it.

What our clients say about how long they last

Watch us do it

Anthony, one of our owners, shows both kinds of arrangement in two and a half minutes: how to water a box without damaging it, and how to change the water in a vase. The two pieces in his hands are ours and you can order either of them: Candy Land Box Arrangement from $190, and the Wild flower Designer choice deluxe arrangement from $119.

If your flowers came in a box

A flower box, the Candy Land Box Arrangement in the video among them, arrives finished. The stems are already set in soaked floral foam, cut to length and placed, which is the whole point of it: nothing to arrange, no vase to find, and the flowers are never handled again after they leave our bench.

Do not lift the flowers out of the foam. A stem taken out of foam has nowhere to drink from. Water the foam instead, every other day:

1. Fill a watering can. Ours holds sixteen ounces.
2. Tear the corner off the packet of flower food that came with the order so it makes a spout, pour it in and stir until it dissolves.
3. Push a few flowers gently aside and pour slowly into several different spots in the box, so the whole block of foam takes up water rather than one corner of it.

Do not overwater. The box itself is made of high quality novelty paper and it does not like water. Stop before anything pools or runs over the edge. That single mistake ruins more boxes than anything else.

If your flowers came in a vase or wrapped

Change the water every other day, and do it in this order:

1. Lift the whole arrangement out of the vase in one piece, holding it like a bouquet.
2. Pour the old water away and refill the vase with clean water, adding the flower food before the flowers go back in. Every order leaves with a sachet.
3. Cut the stems at a 45 degree angle. The angle matters: a flat cut can sit against the bottom of the vase and seal itself shut. Use a sharp knife rather than scissors, which crush the stem.
4. Guide the arrangement back in with both hands and it holds its shape.

Keep the vase away from direct sun, drafts and anything that blows warm air. In dry heat a vase can drop an inch of water a day, so top it up between changes.

If something is wrong

Send us a photograph within 24 hours of delivery, by text to 480-352-5716 or to orders@floweraz.com, and we will replace the arrangement. Flowers are perishable, so they are not returnable in the ordinary sense, but a bad arrangement is our problem, not yours.

Common questions

How fresh are the flowers when you buy them?

We order from our suppliers almost every day rather than filling a cooler once a week, and every delivery is checked before anything is designed: stems, heads, leaves and the state of the water they travelled in. Anything that will not hold is turned away at that point rather than sold. Inside the company that check is the rule nothing gets past.

How do you keep flowers fresh in the Phoenix heat?

Every stem is conditioned and held in our walk-in cooler before it is designed, and the finished arrangement goes back into cold storage until the driver takes it. The van has a refrigerated compartment built into it, not a cooler bag, so the flowers stay cold from the bench to the door. A bouquet left in a hot car does not wilt in a day, it wilts in twenty minutes, which is why we do not let that happen.

How long will my flowers last?

That depends on the variety and on where the vase stands. Roses, carnations and orchids hold longer than ranunculus or garden roses, and any arrangement lasts longer away from direct sun, drafts and anything that blows warm air. What we control is the part before you get them: cold storage, a fresh cut and clean water. One of our clients put it this way: "Flower arrangements are extraordinary and luxurious! They stay fresh for weeks and keep my soul happy."

What should I do the moment the flowers arrive?

It depends on how they arrived. In a box, the flowers are already set in soaked floral foam: do not pull them out. Dissolve the flower food in a can of water, push a few stems gently aside and pour slowly into several spots in the box every other day, stopping before anything pools, because the box is paper and does not like water. In a vase, lift the arrangement out in one piece, pour the old water away, refill with clean water and flower food, cut the stems at a 45 degree angle and guide the flowers back in. Every order leaves with a sachet of flower food.

What if my flowers arrive damaged or do not last?

Send us a photograph within 24 hours of delivery, by text to 480-352-5716 or to orders@floweraz.com, and we will replace the arrangement. Flowers are perishable, so they are not returnable in the ordinary sense, but a bad arrangement is our problem, not yours.

Do you do anything different in summer?

From May through September we hold an arrangement rather than leaving it outside, unless you tell us the spot is safe. Ten minutes on a doorstep in July undoes everything the cooler did. There is more on how we deliver through a Phoenix summer on our summer delivery page.