Tulips are flowers with minds of their own. If you’ve ever watched one of those viral time-lapse videos of how flowers behave throughout a given day, you know just what I mean: As sun gently filters in throughout the morning, rises to full-blast, then slowly fades, you’ll notice tulips perform a bit of flower ballet—standing at attention, then bending toward the light—to follow the steps of the sunshine they feel.

Of course, all flowers are responsive to light, but tulips have a mischievous way of truly rearranging themselves as the day goes on. So how can you best care for these botanical wonders? Walk with me.

Before You Begin…

…a little science!

Tulips are phototropic, which means they’re very interested in sunlight and will try to chase it. “Tulips are flowers that will continue to grow and reach for the light, natural or otherwise, even after they’ve been cut,” says Endry.

They’re also geotropic, which means they’re pretty sensitive to the forces of gravity and will bend and curve throughout the day and depending on their conditions.

When you have this in mind, it’s actually quite wondrous to watch cut tulips throughout the day—a beautiful reminder that they’re still very much considered living things. We sometimes make the mistake of assuming that once a flower has been cut, it’s more or less dead/dying. Actually, tulips are really hardy blooms and can withstand extreme cold and lots of light, and as you’ve probably noticed, they’re very much alive, even after being snipped!

What You’ll Need

• A clean vase
• Sharp, clean scissors, shears, or a knife
• Water access
• Optional: a penny, flower food, or alum powder

Step 1

With a sharp knife or scissors, cut your tulips at a 45 degree angle.

This always-important step allows tulips (and all flowers!) to absorb the maximum amount of hydration possible since the surface area of a 45 degree cut is larger than a cut straight across the stem.

Step 2

Remove exterior leaves.

Paring away any organic material, says Endry, is key to extending the life of your flowers. Extra exterior leaves, particularly in tulips where the exterior leaves come in several layers, can contribute to sour-smelling water as they decay below the waterline. Removing all leaves from a tulip’s stem is a step Endry calls essential: “Removing leaves and any other organic material (like the soil that collects in tulip stems) is critical as well as It helps prevent bacteria growth and keeps water cleaner longer,” she says.

Step 3

Fill your vase and add a penny.

Though Endry believes that changing water regularly and keeping stems trimmed is plenty to extend your tulips’ lives, lots of folks swear by the trick of adding a penny to the water. Copper is a natural fungicide, so it can help reduce the amount of goopy gunk that can thrive in your water. The trick? Make sure your penny was minted pre-1982, when pennies in the US were made with primarily copper. After 1982, you’ll find that they aren’t effective because they’re primarily made of zinc.

Step 4

Arrange…and re-arrange!

Endry has specific tactics for keeping those mischievous, moving tulip blooms pointing in the right direction: “If I am arranging tulips for a particular occasion, I typically wait to do the arrangement until the day of the event because they undoubtedly move around, and typically not in a way that I prefer.” Because of their sensitivity to light and gravity, tulips aren’t terribly reliable botanicals if you’re looking for something to stay put. (I think that makes them even more fun!)

Endry’s approach? “I love to arrange tulips in a loose, free form style with lots of natural looking movement,” she says. “They tend to rearrange themselves overnight, or after several hours, in the same upward angle making them look like little marching soldiers.”

Alternately, tulips can be added into an arrangement bolstered by larger, more sturdy flowers that’ll encourage them to stay put. Really, though, tulips are kind of the “bad boy” of the flower kingdom—their unruliness is part of what makes them so special.

My advice? Let tulips be tulips, roaming around freely, arranged loosely and allowed to explore.

2 Expert-Approved Tips

Flower Food

“I’ve never gone too far with flower food,” says Endry. “People do use alum powder however as well or even plain sugar, but I always feel that if the stems are fresh and recut with fresh water, they typically last their expected amount of vase life. I use something called Quickdip by Floralife.”

Placement Of Your Vase

It matters where you decide to place your final arrangement, Endry advises. “Cut stems don’t have specific light requirements like growing plants potted in soil. In fact, too much light can actually shorten the lifespan of your blooms by speeding up how quickly they open. Warmth in general (warm light conditions, warm water) cause flowers to open quicker whereas cool, dark places do the opposite.”