This Simple Hack Will Keep Your Tulips From Drooping Forever

Tulips are quintessential Spring flowers and easy to find in just about every grocery store — but I have to admit, I rarely buy them. Reason being, I get them home and promptly watch them droop every which way. Recently, however, that all changed. My mom knocked on my door with tulips in tow and walked me through how to keep those tulips standing tall.

Leave the tulips in the wrapping and trim the end of the stems significantly. Fill a tall vase with cold water and place the wrapped tulips in the vase. If you buy tulips with no wrapping, no worries! Just grab a piece of cellophane (or something similar) and wrap it around the flowers and tape. Leave the wrapping for at least a couple hours or even overnight, if you have time.

Tulips' stems are actually completely hollow, so without the extra support of the wrapping, it's no surprise that as the flowers try to suck up water, the weight of the flowers causes the stems to buckle. The extra support allows the stems to drink up all the water they need to keep those flowers perky. With my mom's trick and refreshing the water every couple days, the tulips stood tall all week.

Be sure to use this tip with other hollow-stem flowers like amaryllis, bells-of-Ireland, dahlias, delphiniums, and hollyhocks to keep those Spring flowers around all season long. Get even more tips on keeping those flowers fresh longer.