cut flowers not opening?

Sounds like they were frosted in transit. Daffodils don’t mind the frost and snow whilst in the ground, but might not have been kept in the right conditions when in transit.
I’ve had this with roses before.

This has happened for me with daffodils a few times this year. I now try to buy those which are partially open already.

I think I read somewhere that flowers should be kept in a dark place when first brought home. I can't remember if this applied to daffs and tulips.

Sorry to hear about this - a sad waste of money.

Googling "cut daffodils not opening" brought up this:

Ideally you will recut every day or two under water to keep the vascular system open. Sometimes the daffodils will not have been properly stored or shipped and they don't open. Other flowers shouldn't be arranged with cut daffodils as they have a gummy substance that clogs the vascular system of other plant material

Not sure if this is helpful, but I bought some daffodils a few weeks ago and they weren’t opening so I gently peeled off the membrane that seemed to have dried around the petals, and it worked!

I think someone like Monty Don has shown us that this works when roses have been weather damaged…worth a go?

I was bought a lovely pot rose recently which is withering away. Also two cases of daffs are not opening, disappointing,

Pushed too hard, too fast, and picked too early. A bit like many fruit and veg- unripe when you buy, and then goes over, missing the ripe bit in between!

I think these are beyond saving... I will try to post a photo later. I will mention it to the florist (at the grocery store), but I'm not really hopeful that they will have any response. It's really disappointing!

I’ve had this with daffodils this year. It’s very rarely happened in previous years but this time, it’s been about a third of bunches that haven’t opened properly.

I’ve just been on a visit to family in the US. Bunches of daffodils bought from their supermarket but which came from Ireland opened perfectly despite their long journey!

I've had a single bunch not open. They were from Sainsbury's. All others have opened fine.

I don't remember this ever happening before.

I always cut an inch off the bottom, plunging them straight into deep water, I have done it with two bunches this e ening and they are opening already.

So, these were bought Sunday, stems cut when I arrived home and placed in cool water. This photo was taken Tuesday afternoon. You can see they withered without even opening.
Too bad since I love daffs. I think I will talk with the florist at the store.

Hi,
I saw tip on tv which was to put a 2 pence piece in bottom of vase. Not sure if works but worth am try.

I have had this happen in the past and agree, it is annoying because you've spent the money but cannot enjoy the flowers - even worse if they were an expensive gift.

Recently, I bought a bunch of closed daffodils from Tesco, really pushed the boat out at 99p per bunch and they were beautiful. I trimmed the stems as soon as I got them home and then re-trimmed them and changed the water every other day. They lasted almost two weeks.

Not sure if this is the case with your daffodils -- they should not be cut until the membrane starts to brown. Also, the bud should feel a bit squishy, like a marshmallow.

I have had daffodils which withered away without opening, and others which were beautiful and lasted over a week. I treat them all the same - cut off the ends and leave in deep water for a day.

Nanie, that certainly works for droopy tulips. I stopped buying tulips because they always droop. Now I put copper coins in the bottom of the vase and they are perfect. Another tip I read was for roses. Trim the bottom and plunge into hot water. This works a treat too.

Good tip re a coin in the tulips 🌷 thanks.

michelleblane

Nanie, that certainly works for droopy tulips. I stopped buying tulips because they always droop. Now I put copper coins in the bottom of the vase and they are perfect. Another tip I read was for roses. Trim the bottom and plunge into hot water. This works a treat too.

A friend told me to push a pin through the width of the tulip stem, slightly behind the flower. I've found that this alway stops them drooping though I don't have any idea why. It even perks up tulips that are already drooping.
I think that the worst fresh flowers to buy are roses, so many of them don't ever open from the bud and if they do they often have drooping heads within a day or two. I always follow the instructions, cutting the stems and using any flower food that is provided.
I've heard people recommend a dash of bleach, a small amount of sugar or an aspiring but I don't know if anything really works for flowers that have been forced or frosted.

Sorry, that should be "aspirin" not "aspiring"!

Off the subject, but has anybody else had problems with bananas recently? Ours have split their skins and never reached the magic ripe moment before going brown.

I bought a bowl full of daffodil bulbs only one opened the rest didn’t total waste of money.

I had 2lots of Flowers By Post from my 2 daughters. They opened out after a couple of hours on water and a week later are still going strong. I also had flowers from a friend 2 weeks ago and they are still lovely too.

Yes same happened to me twice recently with some daffodils I bought from Sainsbury’s. Can’t remember this happening in previous years. I won’t be wasting money on any more.