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I used to pre-cut all my stems at 45 degrees until I saw what it did to my hydrangeas
For three years straight I clipped every stem at a sharp 45 degree angle like the textbooks say. Then I took a class last fall at the Seattle Wholesale Flower Market and the instructor showed us hydrangeas cut straight across actually drink way more water. Turns out those woody stems suck up moisture better with a flat cut because the xylem tubes stay open. Now I only angle cut soft stems like tulips and daffodils. Has anyone else had better luck with certain flowers using a straight snip instead?
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nathan_foster605mo ago
Turns out those woody stems suck up moisture better with a flat cut" really hits home for me. It's one of those things where the "right way" isn't always right for every situation, kind of like how I used to treat all my houseplants the same until I learned some like their soil bone dry. Funny how breaking a rule can actually give you better results than following the textbook.
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oliviadixon5mo ago
Jumping off what you said @nathan_foster60, it totally applies to how I treat my peonies too. For years I did the angled cut on every single one before putting them in a vase, but then a grower told me peonies actually drink best from a straight cut because their stems are somewhere between soft and woody. Now I save the 45 degree angle strictly for things like tulips and ranunculus where the stems are hollow or super soft. It's wild how one little rule change can make your flowers last twice as long, just like how ignoring the "water weekly" rule actually saves some of my succulents from rotting.
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