About Shears & Vessel
Last updated 2026-09-18
What this archive is
Shears & Vessel is an independent reference for cut-flower post-harvest handling. It records one thing well: what happens to a stem between the moment it is cut and the moment it is thrown out, and which of the things a florist does in that window actually change the outcome.
The archive is organised in three layers. Stem profiles record the physical facts of a species — how woody the base is, how it should be cut, how often its water must be changed, how long it holds and how sensitive it is to ethylene. Vase solutions record the recipes that go into the water, with a component table, a sucrose percentage and a target pH. Bouquet structures record how stems are arranged and bound, because a structure that crushes the binding point shortens vase life no matter how well the individual stems were conditioned.
How the data is produced
Every figure on this site is a handling specification, not a laboratory result, and we say so plainly rather than dressing it up. Lignification is scored on a five-point scale from our own bench observation of how a stem behaves under a blade, not from a histology slide. Vase-day ranges are the span we observe across a season at room temperature between 20 and 22 °C, with 60% relative humidity and no direct sun. Change intervals are set by the point at which bacterial load in an unchanged vase crosses the threshold where the xylem starts to plug, which is why so many of them land on 24 rather than 48 hours.
Where a species is variable — and most cut flowers are — the profile says so and gives the range rather than a single number. A garden rose grown outdoors in a cool season holds longer than the same cultivar forced under glass; both are covered by the stated range.
What the site does not do
There is no sponsored content here and no affiliate links. Nothing on this site is paid for by a supplier of preservative, a wholesaler or a grower, and no product is recommended by name. Recipes are given as components and concentrations so that you can buy them wherever you already buy them.
The site is written and maintained by a small group of people who handle cut stems for a living. Corrections from growers and florists are welcome and are acted on; write to the address on the contact page.
Write to [email protected]