Every autumn the same question comes from interior teams getting ready to cross: what can we have on board for the passage that will not be in the bin by the Canaries? The honest answer is that cut flowers are the wrong starting point. Plants are the right one, with a few cut flowers chosen for stamina rather than looks.
Start with plants, not bouquets
A potted plant keeps living. A cut stem starts dying the day it is cut. For a crossing, that difference is everything.
- Phalaenopsis orchids. The best choice by far. In a pot, with the flowers already open, they hold for weeks and need very little water. They are the reason orchids are everywhere on yachts.
- Succulent and cactus arrangements. Almost indestructible, happy in a warm saloon, and they do not mind being ignored.
- Tillandsia, the air plants. No soil and no water spills, which on a moving boat is a real advantage. A light misting now and then is enough.
- Green plants in heavy pots. Anything with a low centre of gravity and a weighted container.
Cut flowers that earn their place
If you want some cut flowers for the first week or two, choose the long-lasting ones and buy them tight, so they open slowly at sea.
- Anthurium. Waxy, tough, and often good for two weeks or more.
- Cymbidium orchids as cut stems, which last far longer than most people expect.
- Chrysanthemums and alstroemeria, the workhorses of any long vase life.
- Proteas and other structural flowers, which also dry beautifully if you let them.
Leave the delicate ones for the Caribbean: garden roses, hydrangea, peonies and sweet peas look wonderful for a few days and then give up. Which flowers travel well is covered in more detail here.
Secure everything
The most common loss on a crossing is not a wilted flower. It is a vase that tipped over in the night. A few habits prevent it:
- Use heavy, low containers, and put non-slip mats underneath.
- Wedge arrangements into corners or fiddled shelves for the passage, and bring them out once the boat is settled.
- Use floral foam or a grid of tape across the vase mouth so stems cannot shift.
- Keep the water level lower than usual so a roll does not empty it on the table.
Keep them cool and away from fruit
Flowers last longest in the coolest room on the boat, out of direct sun and away from the deck heat. Keep them away from the fruit bowl as well: ripening fruit gives off a gas that makes flowers age much faster. Change the water every two or three days, trim a centimetre off the stems when you do, and remove anything that is fading before it drags the rest down.
Plan the arrival, not just the passage
The flowers you take on in Antibes are for the crossing. The ones that matter are the ones waiting when the first guests step aboard in the Caribbean. That means the import permit for the island should be in place before you leave: 5 to 7 working days, planned once for the season. Then the first fresh delivery can be timed for your arrival. What to settle before leaving the Med covers the rest.
Tell us your departure date from the Riviera and we will put together a crossing box of plants, long-lasting stems and sundries, delivered to the boat the day before you leave.