Some flowers are sprinters. These are the marathoners.
The marathoners, ranked
Orchids — weeks, plural
Weeks, plural; the arrangement that is still going when the card is in a drawer.
Alstroemeria — two weeks is normal
The quiet overachiever: 2 weeks is normal.
Carnations — the unfairly maligned overachiever
Unfairly maligned, outlast almost everything in the vase.
Anthurium and protea — built for heat and time
The tropicals, built for heat and time.
Chrysanthemums — a professional's stamina
The grocery-store flower with a professional's stamina.
More care, less guessing: keeping flowers alive in Las Vegas heat.
The honest tail: roses and tulips
Roses give you five to seven good days with care, tulips about five and they keep growing in the vase, which is either charming or alarming.
Longevity is a design choice
If the occasion is "I want them to last," tell us that when you order.
Tell us "I want them to last" when you order, and the designer will build for longevity. That is what Designer's Choice is for.
The ranking has an asterisk: ethylene. It pours off ripening fruit, off the produce in your fridge, off a stem that has started to wilt, and it ages every bloom near it. So keep the arrangement clear of the fruit bowl. And when one stem fades, pull it. Left in the vase, it takes its neighbors down with it.
Related reading: how to make flowers last longer · orchids · flowers that survive a Las Vegas summer
