A gardening expert tested four popular methods to stop tulips drooping in a vase — and the clear winner takes just seconds to do
Millie Bull Deputy Editor, Spare Time and Angela Patrone Senior Lifestyle Reporter
00:05, 17 Apr 2026
You need a common household item to keep your tulips standing up(Image: Getty)
Nothing matches the sight of several tulips standing tall in a vase; however, there are occasions when tulips have a tendency to flop dramatically over the vase edge and stubbornly refuse to stand up straight despite every attempt to correct them.
Even when you’re well-versed in all the tricks for prolonging the life of cut flowers, blooms can still show signs of wilting or deteriorate surprisingly quickly. Tulips, in particular, have gained a reputation for drooping faster than most.
The reason behind their collapse has long been something of a mystery, as have the best methods to prevent it. However, following a dedicated tulip trial, gardening instructor and specialist Bethie took to her Instagram profile @blueacregarden to share the “winning” results so you can “fix your floppy tulips fast”. Bethie found there was one “clear far and away winner” in the experiment.
The reason behind their collapse has long been something of a mystery(Image: berkpixels via Getty Images)
Starting with a selection of drooping tulips, the horticulturist placed two stems in each of four separate vases and “waited exactly six days” to assess the results.
One vase contained vodka, the second featured coins, the third involved using a pin to pierce a hole in the tulip stems, while the final vase acted purely as a control to show how the flowers fared without any intervention or additives whatsoever, reports the Mirror.
Bethie noted that all tulips received a fresh trim before she filmed the footage, and that every bloom was kept in a bright spot in her kitchen throughout the trial. The gardener found that the “biggest loser” of the experiment was the vodka vase. She explained: “The one shot of vodka tulip plants fared horribly.”
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The flowers appeared “sad, saggy, and droopy”, having lost all firmness in their stems.
Bethie continued: “It took up a good amount of water, but that seems to have petered off after a few days, and the plants suffered.”
The control group fared “slightly better” than the vodka method. Although the stems retained a slight hint of firmness, they still drooped over the edge of the vase, with the leaves showing no strength whatsoever.
The coin technique came in next, with those tulips maintaining some structural integrity in both their stems and foliage. Bethie noted, “I honestly think that if I had made a fresh cut on these and put them in fresh water, these actually might perk up a little bit.”
Tulips often sag in vases(Image: Adam Lampton via Getty Images)
The “big and very clear far and away winner” ultimately proved to be the pin method, which takes only a matter of seconds to carry out. Bethie declared, “That’s right. By putting one tiny air hole using a pin under the petals of your tulips, you can have tulips that stand up nice and tall and strong.
“This method far and away outlasts any of the other most commonly recommended ways to keep your tulips tall and upright.”
By piercing a tiny hole near the top of your tulips, any trapped air pockets within the stem are able to escape, allowing the plant to absorb enough water to remain upright and sturdy.
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