Choosing Flowers That Survive the South African Climate

Heat is the enemy

A cut flower is a plant losing water it can no longer replace, and everything about keeping flowers alive comes down to slowing that loss. In South Africa, much of the gifting year is hot, and the distance between the shop and the vase is where most bunches die. Choose flowers for the climate and the journey they will actually face, not for how they look in the picture.

Flowers that cope, and flowers that sulk

The hardy end: proteas and the rest of the fynbos family are grown for these conditions and last for weeks in a vase rather than days. Strelitzias are similarly tough. Chrysanthemums, carnations and alstroemeria are long-lasting workhorses. Lilies bought with their buds still closed open over days, which gives a bouquet a second act.

The delicate end: roses open fast in heat. Hydrangeas drink constantly and collapse dramatically when they miss a drink. Sweet peas and poppies barely survive the drive home. None of these are bad flowers. They are bad flowers for a hot week, a long trip, or a recipient who will not fuss over a vase.

The working rule: the further the flowers must travel and the hotter the day, the harder the flower needs to be.

How to spot flowers with life left in them

Buy flowers that are on their way up, not on their way out: buds showing colour rather than blooms fully open, firm petals, upright heads, green stems that are not slimy, and clean water in the display bucket. A bunch already performing at its peak in the shop has spent what you are paying for.

The hot car kills more flowers than anything else

The most dangerous part of a flower’s life is the boot of a parked car. A car standing in the sun heats up far beyond the temperature outside, and a bouquet shut in the boot while you finish the rest of the shopping can be finished before you get home. So make flowers the last purchase of the trip. Carry them in the cabin with the aircon on, in a footwell or on a seat, never in the boot in warm weather. If there is an unavoidable gap between buying and giving, leave them standing in water somewhere cool rather than in the car.

Highveld winter versus coastal summer

The two climates punish flowers differently. A Highveld winter does little harm with cold, but the air is very dry and indoor heaters pull moisture straight out of petals: keep arrangements away from heaters and fireplaces, and top the water up often, because vases empty faster than you expect. A humid coastal summer, Durban above all, brings heat and damp together: flowers wilt faster and dense arrangements can turn mouldy, so give them airflow, keep them out of the sun, and change the water often.

In summer anywhere, a delivered bouquet should not wait at a gate or on a stoep. If flowers are being delivered, make sure someone is there to take them in and get them into water.

Arrangement, loose stems, or a potted plant

• A made-up arrangement in its own container travels best and needs no vase hunt on arrival. It is the right choice for offices and for sympathy, where vases are scarce and nobody has spare hands.
• Loose stems usually give more flower for the money, but they demand a vase, a recut and ten minutes of someone’s attention. Right for people who enjoy flowers rather than merely receiving them.
• A potted plant outlasts both by months and is the honest answer when “lasting” is the whole point. It does need a person who will water it, so match the plant to the recipient’s actual habits.

Care once they arrive, in two minutes

• Recut the stems at an angle, taking a couple of centimetres off.
• Clean vase, fresh water, and the flower-food sachet if one came with the bunch. It is not a gimmick.
• Strip any leaves that would sit below the waterline. Underwater leaves rot and foul the water.
• Keep the vase out of direct sun, away from heaters, and away from the fruit bowl. Ripening fruit gives off a gas that ages flowers faster.
• Every day or two, refresh the water and pull out anything dead before it takes the rest with it.

If a bunch arrives wilted, do not give up on it: recut the stems, stand it deep in cool water, and leave it in a cool dark room for a few hours. Many bouquets come back.