An Expert Decorator Shares The Trader Joe's Flower Bouquet You Need In Your Home
While most people rave about the food selection at Trader Joe's, others focus on another product: their flower bouquets. Typically located at the front of the store, Trader Joe's bouquets are known for being reasonably priced and beautiful. But according to Robert Rufino, the Senior Style Director at House Beautiful, one floral offering at this retailer is better than the rest — he recommends picking up a bunch or two of tulips.
As he says in a House Beautiful TikTok post, "It's just as good as going to a really good florist. I would give tulips a number one — meaning high, really good." While Rufino often picks up two big bundles of white tulips, he also points out that the double bunch of orange ones is spectacular. The regular bundles cost $7.99 each at Rufino's local store, while the double bunch costs a bit more since you're getting twice as many flowers. Additionally, when shopping for flowers at Trader Joe's, Rufino recommends shopping at 8 a.m. to avoid large crowds and get the best selection.
How Rufino arranges tulips
As soon as Rufino brings his tulips home from Trader Joe's, he goes through a process of preparation. "A tulip tip or any tip for flowers: As soon as you get your tulips or any flower home, clean them, cut the stem, cut out the dead leaves, and then arrange them," he says in another TikTok with House Beautiful. Trimming the stems is extremely important, as this will allow the tulips to get enough water, which will cause them to look fresh for longer.
Arranging them is extremely simple, especially if you only use tulips and no other flowers or greenery, as Rufino often does. After preparing two big bunches of tulips, the process is simple. "I just plop them in; I don't really arrange them," Rufino explains in the above post. He can do this because the stems at Trader Joe's are typically longer than at other stores, so they can look lovely with minimal effort as they elegantly hang over the sides of your vase.
Maintaining Trader Joe's tulips
To maintain your tulip arrangement, there are a few steps you need to complete regularly. "Once a day or every other day, you need to change the water, and, you know, every other day, sometimes I just trim the stem," Robert Rufino explains (via House Beautiful's TikTok). "You need to maintain them. You don't just stick them in and [think] like, 'Oh, they're gonna last.' They have to be taken care of."
It's crucial to ensure your tulips have fresh water and are cut regularly because they continue to grow even after being cut — if provided with ideal conditions. "I let them sit, and in two days, they start dancing. Maybe it's my imagination, but it's like they're ... growing taller," Rufino says (via TikTok). This is not his imagination, as they can continue to grow up to 8 centimeters taller. As one person explains in the TikTok comment section, "Fun fact: Stems of cut tulips may continue to elongate slightly due to a process called cell expansion." However, to allow this process to occur, it's best to keep your tulips out of direct sunlight.