All Bout Flowers - Complete Flower Directory & Guide

Know what you are buying before you buy it

Most flower shopping happens in a hurry, in front of a bucket, with no idea whether the bunch in your hand will last three days or three weeks. That single piece of information is usually the difference between flowers that were worth the money and flowers that were not, and it is almost never on the label.

This directory covers the flowers you will actually meet in a florist or a supermarket: what each one costs and why, when it is genuinely in season, how to tell a fresh stem from a tired one, how long it should realistically last, and which ones are dangerous to keep in a house with a cat. Every flower page includes the practical detail that florists work from and consumer guides tend to skip.

Five things that apply to almost every flower

The individual pages get specific, but a handful of principles hold across nearly everything sold as a cut flower.

Buy in bud, with one exception. Flowers sold tight and just showing colour give you their whole life in your house rather than in the shop. The exception is dahlias, which barely open after cutting and should be bought already open.

Recut the stems before they go in water. A stem that has been out of water seals over and forms an air lock. Two centimetres off at a sharp angle, ideally under running water, is the single most useful thing you can do to a bunch of flowers.

Strip everything below the waterline. Submerged leaves rot, the bacteria they release block the stems, and that is the most common reason a bunch dies early. It is also why the water smells.

Keep flowers away from the fruit bowl. Ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas, which makes flowers age and drop early. Carnations are extremely sensitive to it; so are orchids and delphiniums. Moving the vase is free and can add days.

Cool is better than warm, and out of the sun. Warmth speeds a flower through its life. A vase on a sunny windowsill or above a radiator will fade in half the time of the same bunch on a cool shelf.

For flower-by-flower detail, see the care guide, or pick any flower from the directory.

Discover the Beauty of Flowers

Know what you are buying before you buy it

Featured Flowers

Alstroemeria

Calla Lilies

Carnations

Daffodils

Dahlias

Daisies

The Longest-Lasting Cut Flowers

Five things that apply to almost every flower

Flower Guides

Professional Flower Arrangement Guide: Tips & Techniques

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Wedding Flowers

How to Make Your Flowers Last Longer: Expert Secrets

Flower Meanings

Care Guides

Seasonal Guide