### Gerbera bouquets in Dubai: shallow water, changed daily Fill the vase barely a finger deep. That single instruction decides whether a gerbera bouquet lasts its week or gives up in two days, and hardly anybody is told it at the counter. The stem is fuzzy and it rots along whatever length stands in water. Deeper water means more rotting surface, cloudier water, and a stem that stops drinking from the bottom upwards. Change that water daily instead of topping it up, and wash the vase each time, because the film on the glass returns to fresh water within the hour. > "The first question we get about gerberas is why the vase went cloudy so fast. The answer is almost always that the water was too deep." > (JFLOO florist) Recut with a knife, not with scissors. Scissors crush the soft core and close the channels the stem drinks through. Cut straight across as well, since an angled cut gains nothing on this flower and only adds surface for rot. There are no leaves to strip, because the stem carries none. What replaces the usual routine is attention to the water line and to the cut, and both of those are quick once somebody has been shown them. Orders start at 250 AED, and payment goes by Apple Pay or cash to the courier. #### The one bouquet that ignores the calendar Gerberas are grown under glass and reach the counter through the year, so this is one of the few things on the list that does not depend on a season. In a city working with Dutch roses at 60 to 90 cm and Dutch peonies outside their own season, that steadiness has a value of its own. Availability of one particular shade still shifts a little through the year, so an unusual colour is worth confirming when the order goes in rather than on the morning of delivery. Three habits carry the bouquet through its week: - Water a finger deep, changed daily, with the vase washed each time. - A fresh straight cut with a knife every couple of days. - The support left on the stem, however visible it is. #### Getting it across the city Delivery runs 2 to 4 hours across Downtown, Business Bay, Marina, JBR, Palm Jumeirah and DIFC, and we work 9 AM to 10 PM. Summer reaches 40 °C with coastal humidity on top, so boxes go out insulated and stay out of direct sun at both ends. The flat disc travels better than an open peony does. Heads are fixed in the box so they cannot knock against each other, and that is most of what a gerbera asks of a courier. Where it lands matters more than how far it went. A gerbera has no scent at all, which puts it on meeting room tables, in hospital rooms and beside food without any argument, and in an office it will still be working when things sent with more ceremony have gone. Most of these bouquets go to people who receive flowers as a courtesy. A gerbera says thank you and then stops, and in a city where a large share of gifting is professional, that limit is exactly what makes the flower usable. One structural note carries over from the workshop. The head is heavy and the stem is soft, so a wire goes inside the stem or a clear sleeve over the neck before the box is closed. Leave it in place at home, however visible it looks, because it holds the head for as long as the flower lives. Tell us the shade you want and the date it has to arrive. If the colour has to be exact we will confirm what is on the bench that week before the order is taken, and if the vase at the far end is wide and low, say so, because these stems need a narrow neck to lean against.