Cutting and Caring for
Your Sunflower(s)

How to Cut Your Sunflower

  1. Grab some clippers from our cutting station under the red tent in the open central area. We’ll have them sanitized for you.

  2. Follow the signs to the sunflower cutting area. Please cut from this area only to preserve the view for all visitors.

  3. When you’ve selected the perfect flower, cut the stem at an angle. Doing so provides more surface area for the stem to take up water. Stem length does not matter—it can be as long or short as you like—although a super long stem will make it hard for the flower to hydrate.

  4. Remove all leaves by cutting them close to the stem or stripping them off. These massive leaves are hard to hydrate. Leaving them on will hasten wilting. It’s OK to put the leaves on the ground—they’re compost!

  5. Return to the cutting station and drop off your clippers.

  6. Grab a plastic bag and pull it open. (Seriously, this is probably the hardest part…) Swirl your stem in in one of the provided buckets of water, pop it in the plastic bag, and secure with a rubber band to hold in the moisture.

    You’re all set to take your flower home!

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How to Care for Your Sunflower

  • When you get home, recut the stem(s) at an angle. If you can hold the stem end under water while making the cut, so much the better for hydration.

  • Display your sunflowers—and all cut flowers—in a CLEAN vase. (Would you drink out of that vase? If not, your flowers don’t want to, either.)

  • Remove any leaves/foliage that are below the water line in your vase to help prevent bacteria from growing. Ever seen a bouquet suffering in a vase of nasty, smelly water? Bacteria are responsible for that funk.

  • Keep your flowers looking fabulous. Completely change the water in your vase every day or every other day. Recut stems every 3-4 days. Both actions help reduce bacteria.

  • A little squirt of hairspray on the center of the bloom will prevent pollen from shedding.

  • The best insurance for long vase life for any type of cut flower is sparkling clean vases and water.

  • Depending on the stage of harvest and conditions in the field/on the trip home/in your vase, you’ll be able to enjoy your sunflower for about 5 days.

Cutting Your Sunflower

Here’s a little video with tips and tricks.