How to Keep Tulips From Tipping Over In a Vase

Tulips continue to grow after being cut. They may grow up to 1 inch in the vase, and they follow the sun, resulting in the flowers tipping over. Tulips with long stems end up with curly stems when the arrangement sits in a sunny place. How you cut the tulips, the vase you use, caring for the cut tulips and the style of arrangement affect the longevity and appearance of tulips in a vase. A florist trick will keep the stems straight -- and even help you straighten them after they've bent over.

Newspaper
Clippers or sharp knife
Packets of floral food, also called floral preservative

Instructions

- 1
  
  Cutting tulips short keeps the stems straight.
  
  Hold the tulips up to the vase. Cut the tulips so they are less than one and a half times the height of the vase. For example, if the vase is 8 inches tall, cut the flowers 12 inches or shorter. Cut the stems individually at a diagonal to allow the tulip to take in as much water as possible. Keeping the stems short will help keep the tulips from tipping over.
- 2
  Remove all the tulip leaves. Leaving leaves on in the vase water promotes bacteria and causes tulips to die faster. Fill the vase a third full of cool water and add a packet of floral food.
- 3
  Create a large or medium rounded tulip bouquet by putting one tulip in the middle of the vase and adding more stems around it in circular rows to fill the vase. Trim the stems of the last rows of tulips shorter, if desired, to create a dome shape. Alternatively, arrange an uneven number of tulips in a vase with a narrow neck. The vase's neck will help to keep the tulips upright.
- 4
  
  A wide vase or sunlight encourages tulips to tip over.
  
  Hold the tulips by their stems below the blooms and raise them above the vase. Wrap newspaper around the tulip stems so that it supports the stems and extends up over the flowers. Wrap it around the tulips in a cone shape, leaving half the stems exposed. Slip the tulips back down in the vase and leave them in a cool spot for at least two hours. This straightens the stems. Use this treatment when you first create the tulip arrangement, and repeat it if the tulips begin to bend.
- 5
  Keep the vase of tulips in the shade, if possible, to prevent them from trying to follow the sun. Add fresh water each day. On the third day, trim 1 inch off each stem, cutting on the diagonal. Change the vase's water for fresh water and add a packet of floral preservative.

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