Unboxing The Fresh Cut Flower Of The Month Club: Check Out These Blooms

The middle of winter can be a dreary time of year, making it an especially appealing time to receive flowers delivered to your door. Needless to say, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to try out the Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club. Who doesn't want to get flowers delivered right to their door? Impressively, the flowers from Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club are shipped within just two days of having been cut, ensuring they arrive in peak condition. 

While I waited for the flowers to arrive, I perused the Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club website, where they include a calendar of what bouquet is featured for each month. As I was trying it out in February, I knew had a Thai Orchid Spray to look forward to. The calendar also features information on where each component of the bouquet is grown and background on the history of the flowers. I learned that the club opted to go with orchids for the bouquet that arrives around Valentine's Day because orchids have a history, dating back to ancient Greece, of being associated with romance and beauty. 

The package arrived midday on Feb 12. It came in a cheerful green box and included a sticker asking that it not be placed in direct sun. That wasn't a problem in New York in February, though. The flowers were carefully wrapped and secured in place, and they were in perfect condition, despite temperatures outside being in the mid-20s. The website informed me that the Thai Orchid Spray arrangement consisted of bear grass, candy stripe orchids, Israeli ruscus, and red Sonja orchids, all of which arrived looking stunning. While the orchids were not particularly fragrant varieties, they more than made up for it with their beauty. The flowers came with two packets of Chrysal Classic Cut Flower Food, and each flower stem was in an individual plastic flower vial. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't arrive with printed copies of some of the information on the website regarding both the history of the flowers and tips on taking care of them. But with all the information available online, this wasn't a major problem. 

At first, I was a bit surprised that the flowers didn't arrive with a vase, but then I realized that this was arguably an upside. After all, I, like many flower lovers, have more vases than I know what to do with. And if I should ever run out, I also have a variety of household items that can be repurposed into flower vases. The lack of vase likely makes the bouquet much lighter and easier to ship, as well. 

After freeing the flowers from their packaging, I followed the instructions on the back of the Chrysal packet and snipped each flower stem slightly. Then, I located a vase that looked to be a good size for the flowers and added a pint of water and one of the two packets of flower food. While I thought about trying to style the flowers and greenery a bit, I ended up putting them in the vase almost exactly how they had been arranged in the box. 

On the Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club's Fresh Cut Flower Care Tips page, it recommends keeping the flowers in a cool place with a temperature between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. So, I placed the arrangement in a room, which, according to the thermostat, was about 67 degrees. Then, all I had to do was enjoy my new arrangement.

The Chrysal packet recommended changing the water and adding new flower food every three days. So, in an effort to keep my cut flowers fresh longer, I gave the stems another small snip three days after they arrived, switched out the old water for fresh, and added the last packet of flower food. I also tried rearranging the design a bit. While a few of the orchid flowers looked a bit droopy at this point, most of them were still in excellent shape. In retrospect, I should have probably switched the bear grass and Israeli ruscus to a different vase, as the stems were starting to get a bit short for the vase I was using. I noticed that the orchids had quite a few unopened buds further up their stems and was curious if those might open as the flowers aged. 

A week later, most of the flowers were still in impressively good condition. I opted to remove the candy stripe orchids since they were significantly more faded than the red Sonja orchids. The bear grass and Israeli ruscus were still in perfect shape. I again cut a bit off of the bottom of all of the stems, and since I didn't have any more flower food, I decided to try the trick of reviving flower displays by adding baking soda to the water. The vast majority of the flowers continued to be in excellent shape a full week after arriving at my door. And as hoped, they've been doing a great job making the winter a bit less dreary.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time testing out the Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club. Not only do its flowers arrive in great condition, but it opts for unique bouquets, which are quite a bit different from anything I've seen locally. Though with a price tag of $49.95 plus $17.00 shipping, the cost may be a bit hard to justify for some. This is especially the case during the summer months, when locally grown flowers are more readily available. Conveniently, the Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club offers the option to pause your subscription or just subscribe for a few months. So, I can see the flowers being a great way to cheer up a friend (or yourself) during the winter months.

The company also offers the option to "design your own club". This allows you to alternate between receiving flowers and receiving something from one of its other clubs, like the Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club or Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club. I'll definitely be keeping this in mind next time I need to send a gift to someone.