Caring for your Crushing on You

Keep this arrangement in a cool spot away from direct sun, draughts and ripening fruit, and top up the vase daily — the roses are heavy drinkers and the hydrangea takes in water through its petals as much as its stem, so a light misting keeps both from wilting early. Give the woody rose and hydrangea stems a fresh diagonal cut every couple of days to keep them drawing freely, and handle the ranunculus and gerbera gently, as their hollow, slightly brittle stems bend and bruise easily. The orchid asks for the least, needing only clean water to outlast the others. Strip any leaves that sit below the waterline so the water stays clear, and the whole mix will hold its shape and colour far longer.

A note on your specific blooms

  • Chrysanthemum — Chrysanthemum is sensitive to murky water — strip the lower leaves and refresh it often.
  • 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.
  • 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

With this particular mix, expect a realistic overall display of 6–9 days, with individual stems fading on their own timelines. The hydrangea and roses are the first to soften — hydrangea holds for roughly 4–7 days and roses for about 5–7 — so they signal when the arrangement is past its peak. The chrysanthemum and ranunculus sit comfortably in the middle at 7–14 and 7–10 days, while the orchid is the quiet endurer, often lasting two to three weeks after the rest have gone. The single most useful habit is to recut the stems at an angle and refresh the water every two days, which at Amicis we find does more than anything else to carry the longer-lived blooms through.

The story behind these flowers

A closer look at the blooms gathered into this arrangement.

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.

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.

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.