Caring for your Valentine Vines

Keep this arrangement out of direct sun and away from any draught or heat source, as the gerbera and ranunculus have slender, fragile stems that wilt quickly when the water runs low. The roses are thirsty and will drink steadily, so check the level daily and top up before it drops below the stems. Hydrangea takes in moisture through its petals as much as its stem, so a light misting revives it if the heads begin to droop, while the woody protea and anthurium prefer a clean, sharp cut to keep their channels open. Recut every stem at an angle each time you change the water, and the orchid and anthurium will carry the piece well past the point the softer blooms have faded.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Anthurium — Anthurium prefers warmth — keep it away from the cold and wipe the leaf gently.
  • Gerbera — Gerbera has fragile stems — use shallow, clean water and support the heads.
  • 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.
  • Protea — Strip any foliage below the waterline and refresh the water every two to three days, as protea leaves foul water quickly and shorten the bloom's life.
  • 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.

How long your flowers last

Expect this mix to hold beautifully for around 7–10 days, with the spread reflecting the range of blooms gathered here. The gerbera and hydrangea are the first to soften, typically fading at 4–7 days, so they signal when the arrangement is on its second life. Holding longest are the anthurium and orchid, which stay composed for 2–3 weeks, with protea close behind at 10–14 days and roses and ranunculus settling in the middle. The single most useful habit is to refresh the water every two days and trim a little from each stem at the same time, which keeps the Amicis arrangement drinking cleanly long after the shorter-lived blooms have passed.

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.

Gerbera

Origin

South Africa

Described

By science in 1889

Fragrance

Barely scented, lightly fresh

Symbolises

Cheerfulness, warmth & innocence

The gerbera daisy brings open, sunlit colour and a graphic simplicity to a bouquet. Native to South Africa and loved worldwide, its clean single bloom adds brightness and a friendly, contemporary note to Amicis designs.

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.

Protea

Origin

South Africa's Cape Floristic region

Described

By Linnaeus, mid-1700s

Fragrance

Faint and honeyed

Symbolises

Resilience, diversity & courage

Named for Proteus, the shape-shifting sea god, the protea answers to a genus so varied it seems to change form at will. Its architectural bracts and sculptural silhouette bring weight and structure to an arrangement, holding the eye as a single, deliberate focal point.

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.