How We Keep Flowers Fresh in New York

Most of what decides whether an arrangement still looks good a week later happens before it reaches you, in the hours nobody sees: what we buy, how it is handled, and how fast it gets from the bench to the door.

It starts with what we buy

Fresh flowers are bought, not made. We order from our suppliers almost every day rather than stocking up 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.

From the bench to the door

Our studio on East 72nd Street is built around refrigeration. Flowers live in the cold from the moment they arrive: conditioned, held, and kept there while they wait, so nothing stands warm on a bench between deliveries.

Every stem is conditioned before it is designed, and nothing is built in advance. Your arrangement is made the day it goes out, from the flowers that came in that week, and it leaves the studio already finished.

In Manhattan the flowers travel by car rather than in a refrigerated van, so the answer is speed and wrapping: short runs across the city, and in cold weather every arrangement is wrapped before it goes out, because a bouquet standing in January air loses more in the walk from the car to the lobby than in the whole drive.

You are welcome to see where this happens: the studio is at 355 East 72nd Street.

Before it goes, we photograph it. That is a rule, not a favour: we always take internal photographs of an arrangement before delivery to check the quality and the design, and on request we send that photograph to you, so what you approved is what arrives.

Order by 3 PM Eastern and the flowers go out the same day across all five boroughs. The cut-off times and the delivery detail are on our contact page.

In our clients' words

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 $175, and the Wild flower Designer choice deluxe arrangement from $126.

If your flowers came in a box

A flower box, like the Candy Land Box Arrangement in the video, 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 212-216-0900 or to orders@npetal.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. The full wording is in our return policy.

Common questions

How fresh are the flowers when you buy them?

We order from our suppliers almost every day rather than stocking up 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 the flowers fresh before they reach me?

Our studio on East 72nd Street is built around refrigeration: the flowers are conditioned and held in the cold from the moment they arrive, and nothing stands warm on a bench between deliveries. Your arrangement is made the day it goes out, photographed before it leaves, and carried across the city by car. In cold weather it is wrapped before it goes, because a bouquet loses more standing in January air than on the whole drive.

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, radiators and drafts. What we control is the part before you get them: flowers bought fresh, conditioned, and designed the day they go out rather than days earlier.

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 212-216-0900 or to orders@npetal.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 and winter?

Yes. In a New York summer we keep an arrangement inside rather than leaving it in a lobby or a hallway that has been baking all afternoon, and in winter we protect it from the cold on the way. If nobody will be home, tell us when you order and we will plan around it rather than leaving flowers at a door.