Caring for your Eclipse 13

Keep this bouquet in a clean vase away from direct sun and fruit, and give it generous water, as the roses in particular drink heavily and wilt quickly when they run dry. The hydrangea takes in moisture through its petals as much as its stem, so a light mist and a deep drink will revive it if the head starts to droop. Trim the woody anthurium and orchid stems on a sharp diagonal and strip any foliage sitting below the waterline to slow the water from clouding. The ranunculus and tulips have softer, more delicate stems that bend toward the light and keep growing in the vase, so a fresh angled cut every couple of days keeps them upright and steady alongside the heavier blooms.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
  • Chrysanthemum — Chrysanthemum is sensitive to murky water — strip the lower leaves and refresh it often.
  • Hydrangea — Hydrangea takes up water through its petals — mist the heads and keep the vase topped up.
  • Orchid — Keep orchid stems in cool, clean water away from ripening fruit, whose ethylene gas makes the blooms drop early.
  • Ranunculus — Cut the hollow stems straight across, not at an angle, and keep water shallow and fresh, as these stems sit soft and bruise or rot easily when submerged too deep.
  • Rose — Roses drink heavily — re-cut the stems at an angle every couple of days.
  • Sunflower — Sunflowers are heavy drinkers, so use a tall vessel with plenty of water and top it up daily to keep the stems firm.
  • Tulip — Tulips keep growing in the vase and lean toward light, so use a tall, supportive vessel and turn it daily to keep the stems straight.

How long your flowers last

With this many varieties sharing one vase, expect the arrangement to look its best for roughly 5–7 days, with the longest-lived stems carrying on well beyond that. The hydrangea is the first to tire, often softening within 4–7 days, while the roses and tulips follow close behind at around 5–7. At the other end, the anthurium and orchid are the quiet endurance players here, holding their form for two to three weeks, with the chrysanthemum and sunflower bridging the middle. The single most useful habit is to recut the stems at an angle and refresh the water every two days, which keeps the thirstier blooms drinking and lets you enjoy the full Amicis composition for as long as the mix allows.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

Anthurium

Origin

Rainforests of Colombia & Ecuador

Documented

By botanists in the 1870s

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Hospitality, confidence & beauty

The anthurium's glossy, sculptural 'bloom' is in fact a modified leaf, with a poised tropical architecture few flowers can match. It lends Amicis designs a clean, modern edge — and one of the longest vase lives in the bouquet.

Chrysanthemum

Origin

East Asia — China & Japan

Cultivated since

Over 3,000 years in China

Fragrance

Soft, earthy and herbal

Symbolises

Longevity, joy & well-wishing

One of the oldest cultivated flowers, prized in China and Japan for three thousand years and honoured with its own festival. Its dense, textured heads bring depth and a long, dependable life to an arrangement.

Hydrangea

Origin

Japan & the Americas

Cultivated since

Reached European gardens in the 1700s

Fragrance

Very light, fresh and green

Symbolises

Heartfelt emotion & gratitude

Named from the Greek for 'water vessel', the hydrangea carries full, cloud-like heads that shift colour with the soil — from blush and cream to deep blue. Its generous volume gives Amicis bouquets their soft, romantic fullness.

Orchid

Origin

Tropical regions worldwide

Cultivated since

Prized in Asia for centuries; carried to Europe across the 18th and 19th centuries

Fragrance

Most cut varieties virtually scentless

Symbolises

Refinement, luxury & rare beauty

Among the largest plant families on earth, orchids took root across the tropics of Asia and the Americas, cultivated in Asia long before reaching the West. Victorian collectors then chased them across the globe, fuelling a famous European craze. Their arched stems and sculptural blooms bring quiet architecture to an arrangement, holding their form for weeks where softer flowers fade.

Ranunculus

Origin

Eastern Mediterranean and southwest Asia

Reached Europe

In the 1500s, via Ottoman gardeners

Fragrance

Faint to virtually none

Symbolises

Charm, radiance & allure

Each bloom holds dozens of tissue-thin petals layered into a near-perfect sphere, a structure that opens slowly from a tight bud into something almost rose-like. That gradual unfurling makes Ranunculus a quiet anchor in an Amicis arrangement - sculptural when closed, generous and full once it relaxes open.

Rose

Origin

Asia — China, Persia & the Mediterranean

Cultivated since

Over 5,000 years

Fragrance

Warm and sweet, of honey & tea

Symbolises

Love, gratitude & admiration

The most storied flower in the world, grown and gifted for five millennia. Its layered petals and soft scent have made it the universal language of affection — and the quiet anchor of almost every Amicis arrangement.

Sunflower

Origin

North America

Cultivated since

Several thousand years ago by Indigenous Americans

Fragrance

Virtually scentless

Symbolises

Adoration, warmth & loyalty

Among the oldest flowers cultivated on the continent, the sunflower was domesticated in North America several thousand years ago, grown for its seeds long before its face became a symbol of summer. Its broad golden head turns toward light, and in an arrangement it brings height, openness and an unmistakable sense of generosity.

Tulip

Origin

Central Asia, long cultivated across the Ottoman world

Cultivated since

The 1500s in Europe

Fragrance

Faint and fresh, often nearly scentless

Symbolises

Perfect love, elegance & spring renewal

Native to the mountains and steppes of Central Asia and prized in the Ottoman court, the tulip reached Europe in the 1500s and later fed a Dutch trading frenzy in which the rarest bulbs could rival the price of a house. Its clean, sculptural cup and quiet colour make it a study in restraint - a flower that keeps growing and bending toward the light long after it is cut, giving any Amicis arrangement a living, unhurried grace.