How to trim artificial flower stems

You've taken the plunge and ordered some faux single stems but they're too big for your vase. The good news is you can cut the stems and it's quite easy to do.

Find out how in our step-by-step video guide.

How to trim artificial flower stem - blog post by Blooming Artificial

Almost all single stem flowers or foliage arrive with full length or uncut stems which are probably too big for your vase.

Cutting or trimming the stems to fit your vase is quite easy to do. We'll show you how in our quick step-by-step video below.

How to trim artificial flower stems

What you’ll need:

Pliers or wire cutters
A vase or container
Faux flower stems

three faux foliage sprays in glass vases on kitchen worktop

Single flower & foliage stems

Get started on creating your own lasting floral arrangement with our range of handpicked artificial single stems.

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Trimming your stems

Measure your stems

Firstly, before you get stuck in, you'll need to figure out how much to snip off the end of your flower stems.

If you’re trimming a whole bouquet, it’s good to have some taller stems in the middle to help your centrepiece stand out, as well as some shorter stems to frame the outside of your arrangement, and while it might seem like a lot of hassle to trim each and every stem, it’ll be totally worth it in the end...we promise!

You can either use a tape measure if you want to be exact or simply stand your flower stem inside or next to your vase and eyeball roughly how much length you need to take off the bottom.

Start cutting your stems

Trimming artificial flower stem with wire cutters

When you’re ready, take some strong pliers and snip your stems until they fit your vase.

It’s always best to snip smaller pieces off at a time to make sure you don’t take too much off the bottom, as there’s no easy way to make your stems taller again.

Keep checking to see how they fit your vase after every cut until you’re happy with their height.

Use strong pliers or ask for help

Some flowers like our lily stem or sunflower stem have thicker internal wires so you might need some help to hold them steady while your trim their stems. A second pair of hands is super helpful here, or some extra strong pliers should do the job with a bit of elbow grease!

Keep repeating until all your stems are at the right height.

Bend out your flowers and foliage

When we send your stems out for delivery, we pack them tightly in their boxes to keep them safe and sound while they wing their way to you. This means that sometimes the flowers and leaves need a little TLC to look their best before you can add them to your vase.

Now that your stems are all trimmed to the right height, take a moment to bend out each leaf and frond on your flowers until you’re happy with them. It should only take a second and it will make all the difference when you’re finished!

Add your stems to your vase

Arranging artificial flower stems in vase

Finally, you can either tie them up with some decorative ribbon, twine or string as a finishing touch or leave them loose.

Then, go ahead and add your flowers to your vase and watch them brighten up your space in an instant! 🤩

Frequently asked questions

Can you use scissors to cut flower stems?

Scissors usually aren't strong enough to cut through the internal wire in our faux flower stems, especially those of our flowers that have particularly thick wires. Instead we recommend using a strong pair of pliers or wire cutters to trim your stems. Read our how to cut stems guide here or watch our video below.

What do you put in the bottom of the vase?

Usually all you need to accompany a bouquet is a vase and some water to keep them going. Things are a little different with artificial bouquets...

We choose our flowers based on their realism and to do this most include an internal wire so that you can bend it into a natural position. The only downside is that the wire can rust when exposed to water. Here are some alternative options:

Leave your vase empty. There’s nothing wrong with leaving your vase empty and just sitting your bouquet inside on its own.
Use beads to hide the fact that there’s no water and mask the stems.
Secure the stems permanently with resin. It's a gel that looks just like water and holds the flowers neatly in place. Be careful as resin is permanent so you'll be sacrificing your vase. Also make sure you pick a resin with UV stabilisers to stop it turning yellow in the sun.