The winner: Anthurium, 100/100. Tied for second at 89: Alstroemeria, Carnation. Lowest upkeep of the qualifiers: Black‑eyed Susan at 74.
'Vase life' online is mostly marketing copy: this ranks only species with published postharvest trial data, scored on the guaranteed floor first (what you can count on with zero effort) and the ceiling second (what proper cutting and water changes buy you), not a single vague number.
The picks
The flowers that won
The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
Guaranteed vase-life floor: 10 to 34 · Peak vase-life potential: 10 to 34 · Sold as a cut flower year-round: sold in most shops
Flaws, not dealbreakers:toxic to cats
Deer: seldom damaged (Rutgers B)Not for cat households
89/ 100tap for the breakdown
Guaranteed vase-life floor34 / 4510 to 34
Peak vase-life potential45 / 4510 to 34
Sold as a cut flower year-round10 / 10sold in most shops
The protocol
How the score is built
3 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
Guaranteed vase-life floor45 pointsa documented minimum of 14+ plain-water days scores 45; no published vase figures = not ranked Read from: days it holds in plain water.
Peak vase-life potential45 pointsa documented ceiling of 21+ days with preservative scores 45 Read from: days it holds in plain water.
Sold as a cut flower year-round10 pointssold wholesale year-round 10; specialty farms 7; garden cutting 3. Availability shows as a chip, never decides the crown Read from: whether it is grown as a cut flower.
Not ranked here: not documented as a cut flower, or poor vase behavior is on record (not grown for cutting). Scores are never sponsored
and never sold. The full method ↗
The leaderboard
The top ten
The 10 highest of 40 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
Sold as a cut flower year-round7 / 10sold by specialist growers
Considered, not chosen
Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this job is not theirs.
no published data for guaranteed vase-life floorHydrangea macrophylla, Lavender, Irises and 23 more
not documented as a cut flower, or poor vase behavior is on record (not grown for cutting)Begonia, Canna Lily, Christmas Cactus and 16 more
The winner's badge
Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Anthurium
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit a job is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
named. Nothing here is sponsored, and no score can be bought. When the table changes, every
score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
