Harvesting

• Prepare the first part of post-harvest care before the roses are cut. Fill a clean, deep plastic bucket with lukewarm water and carry it with you as you harvest. Place each cut stem into the water. This keeps the roses fresh by providing them with hydration. The warmth of the water prevents shock. Angle the snips at 45 degrees and snip the rose canes just above a node, or bump, in the cane. This promotes new flower growth and will not harm or stunt that cane. Stems should be at least 18 inches long.
  
  

Cutting and Conditioning

• Once indoors, rose stems must be cut again. This prevents the roses from drawing in air bubbles that prevent the flowers from getting enough hydration. Hold the cut end of each stem under water and snip off about 1 inch at a 45-degree angle. Place the roses immediately into a new bucket of clean, lukewarm water. Set the bucket of roses in a cool, dark place to rest for up to three hours. This allows the roses to hydrate in peace. Do not place them in a root cellar or near picked fruit, however. According to the National Gardening Association, picked produce emits ethylene, a gas that will wilt the roses.
  
  

Preservatives

• Though commercial roses come with a small packet of preservative, there is no need to purchase preservative for roses cut at home. The National Gardening Association suggests mixing 1 cup warm water with 1 cup of a sugary, clear soda and ½ tsp. of bleach. Pour the mix into a vase and add enough water to fill the vase about half full of water. The sugars in the soda will feed the roses while the bleach kills harmful bacteria.
  
  

Vase Arrangement

• Remove any leaves that will sit below the lip of the vase before placing the roses into the vase. This prevents leaf mold and dying flowers. Slip the roses into their vase and set it in a cool, shady area. Extreme heat and full sunlight will wilt roses faster, according to the National Gardening Association. To preserve roses for the longest time possible, place them in a refrigerator at night. Just don't place them in the same fridge with picked produce; the ethylene will cause wilt.