Caring for your Succulent

Keep this arrangement in cool, indirect light and away from draughts, ripening fruit, and direct sun, all of which shorten the orchid's stay and hasten the hyacinth's fade. The hyacinth is a heavy drinker and its stem can turn soft, so check the water line daily and top it up before it runs low. Orchids prefer clean, fresh water and dislike sitting in anything cloudy, so change it every couple of days and give each stem a fresh diagonal cut to keep it taking up water. Handle the orchid blooms gently when you move the vase, since their faces bruise more easily than they look, and lift any spent hyacinth florets so the rest of the mix stays clear and well held.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Hyacinth — Refresh the water often and rinse the stems when you do, as hyacinths release a sticky sap that clouds the water and shortens the life of nearby blooms.
  • Orchid — Keep orchid stems in cool, clean water away from ripening fruit, whose ethylene gas makes the blooms drop early.

How long your flowers last

Expect this pairing of hyacinth and orchid to hold for roughly 7–14 days, with the two blooms aging on different timelines. The hyacinth is the first to soften, typically fading after 7–10 days as its fragrant spikes spend their energy. The orchid is the quiet endurance of the arrangement, often staying composed for 2–3 weeks and carrying the look well past the point the hyacinth bows out. To get the longest life from both, refresh the water every two days and trim a little off the stems each time you do — that single habit does more than anything else to keep the Amicis arrangement looking deliberate rather than tired.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

Hyacinth

Origin

Eastern Mediterranean

Reached Europe

In the 1500s

Fragrance

Sweet and heady

Symbolises

Rebirth, sincerity & remembrance

Native to the eastern Mediterranean and named for the youth Hyakinthos of Greek myth, the hyacinth carries one of the most enveloping scents in floristry. A single dense spike perfumes an entire room, which is why Amicis places it sparingly, letting its fragrance and upright form anchor a composition rather than crowd it.

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.