How do you prevent fresh roses from prematurely wilting despite cutting the stem before putting in water?
If you can cut the stem with a sharp knife under water, that will help to prevent wilt. Never cut with clippers or scissors or in any way crush or saw at the stem. That is the number one reason roses wilt too soon in a home. When you crush the stem, you also crush the means that the flower has to draw water up to the stem, thus wilted heads. Some varieties of roses are better than others though, so ask your florist which ones THEY would take home when you are choosing. If the flowers are already wilted at home, cut the stem at an angle and submerge the ENTIRE flower, stem and all, for an hour or so (you will probably need to weight it down to keep it underwater) and sometimes this will perk them back up.
