Opaline Muse

Caring for your Opaline Muse

Keep the arrangement in a cool spot out of direct sun and away from any draft or fruit bowl, since the delphinium and roses are the quickest to wilt when warm. The roses are heavy drinkers and will pull the water down fast, so check the level daily and top it up before it drops below the stem ends. Give the woody rose stems a fresh angled cut every couple of days to keep them open and drinking, and handle the delphinium gently, as its tall hollow stems bruise and snap easily. The anthurium and orchid ask for little beyond clean water, though a light mist over the anthurium's waxy spathe helps it hold its sheen.

A note on your specific blooms

• Amaranthus — Recut the stems at an angle and keep the water shallow, as amaranthus drinks heavily and the lower stem softens quickly when submerged too deep.
• Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
• Delphinium — Keep the tall stems in deep, fresh water and out of draughts, as Delphinium drinks heavily and wilts quickly if the vase runs low.
• Orchid — Keep orchid stems in cool, clean water away from ripening fruit, whose ethylene gas makes the blooms drop early.
• Rose — Roses drink heavily — re-cut the stems at an angle every couple of days.