Christmas Flowers in Lithuania: Table Bouquets and Gifts

For Christmas in Lithuania most people choose red or white flowers with winter greenery: roses, amaryllis, chrysanthemums or carnations, finished with fir, eucalyptus, berries or cotton. For the Kūčios or Christmas dinner table, keep the bouquet low so people can see each other across it. When visiting, a small bouquet, a flower box or a potted plant such as a poinsettia is an easy gift.

Flowers that suit Christmas

Roses

Red roses are the classic Christmas choice: deep red against dark green fir looks festive without being loud. White roses give a quieter mood and go well with silvery eucalyptus. Roses are sold by the stem, so a small bouquet is easy to fit to your budget.

Amaryllis

Amaryllis is a true winter flower. A tall, thick stem carries several large blooms, usually red, white or striped, and the buds open one after another, so the bouquet keeps changing for days. The heads are heavy, so use a stable, weighted vase. Amaryllis is also sold as a potted bulb that flowers indoors.

Chrysanthemums and carnations

If the bouquet should last through the whole holiday, choose chrysanthemums and carnations: hardy, long-lasting, and available in white, red and even pale green. White spray chrysanthemums with fir look very wintry.

Poinsettia

The poinsettia is a potted plant. Its red, white or pink "petals" are actually coloured leaves called bracts, and the real flowers are the small yellowish buds in the centre. Pick a plant where those buds have not opened yet: it will keep its colour longer.

Poinsettias dislike cold and draughts, and even a short time in the cold can make them drop leaves. Keep the plant in a bright spot away from radiators and open windows, water moderately when the soil surface dries, and do not leave water in the saucer. The milky sap can irritate skin, so place it out of reach of small children and pets.

Greenery and finishing touches

What makes a bouquet look like Christmas is often what goes around the flowers:

• Fir and spruce. In a warm room fir usually holds its needles longer than spruce.
• Eucalyptus. Silvery green, lightly scented, long-lasting, and it dries well.
• Berries. Red ilex or hypericum berries add colour. They are not edible, so with small children at home place the bouquet higher up.
• Cotton. Dried cotton stems look like snow and need no water.

A bouquet for the Kūčios and Christmas table

Kūčios, the Christmas Eve dinner on 24 December, is a quiet family evening in Lithuania. In many homes the table is laid with a white cloth, sometimes with a little hay underneath, and set with Christmas wafers (kalėdaičiai) and twelve dishes without meat. A table like that is already festive, so flowers should support it, not take it over. For Christmas Day lunch you can be bolder with colour.

• Keep it low. So everyone can see each other and talk, the bouquet with its vase should be no taller than about 25–30 cm. On a long table, several small vases along the middle work better than one large bouquet.
• Mild scent. Next to food, lightly scented flowers are better. Lilies and hyacinths are strongly scented and belong in the living room.
• Protect the tablecloth. Lily pollen stains are hard to wash out. If you use lilies, remove the anthers beforehand.
• Contrast. White flowers on a white cloth can disappear; more greenery helps them stand out.
• Away from heat. Near a radiator or fireplace the bouquet will wilt sooner.

Candles and flowers

Candles belong on the Christmas table, but apart from the flowers. Fir dries out within a few days in a warm room, and dried cotton, pine cones, ribbons and paper catch fire easily.

• Use stable holders, keep the flame well away from greenery, and never push candles into a bouquet or a dried arrangement.
• Heat harms flowers even without contact: blooms next to a burning candle fade faster.
• Do not leave burning candles unattended, especially with children or pets around.
• For light inside an arrangement, use battery candles.

Flowers as a gift when visiting

Many people visit relatives over Christmas, and flowers are a fitting gift for the hosts. On the day itself, though, the hosts are busy and may not have a free vase. The easiest options:

• A small bouquet that fits any vase.
• A flower box. The flowers sit in damp floral foam, so nobody has to put them in water.
• A potted plant: a poinsettia, an amaryllis or an orchid, which lasts much longer than a bouquet.

In Lithuania living people are given an odd number of flowers, while even numbers are associated with mourning. This matters most when you give a few single roses. If the hosts have a cat, skip lilies, as they are toxic to cats.

Getting flowers home in the frost

Frost damages flowers quickly, and the damage is not always visible at once: petals can turn brown only after a few hours in a warm room.

1. Ask for the bouquet to be wrapped in several layers of paper, flowers fully covered. Wrap a potted plant completely, pot and all.
2. Buy the flowers last and go straight home or to your hosts.
3. Warm up the car first and put the bouquet in the cabin, not the boot.
4. Do not leave flowers in a cold car, not even for a quick stop at another shop.
5. At home, leave the bouquet wrapped for 15–30 minutes in a cooler spot, then unwrap it, trim the stems and put it in water.

Order ahead

The last days before Christmas are among the busiest of the year for florists, so order a Kūčios or Christmas bouquet a few days in advance. Say whether it is for the table or a gift, which colours you like, your budget and when you will collect it. A bouquet for the Kūčios table is best picked up on 23 or 24 December, so it stays fresh over the holidays.

As a guide, bouquets start from 15 €, roses from 2,50 € per stem, potted plants from 8 € and flower boxes from 35 €.

Christmas flowers in Kaunas

Gitanos gėlės is inside the Šilas supermarket at A. Baranausko g. 26 in Kaunas, open daily 8:00–23:00. You can pre-order a Christmas bouquet by SMS at +370 656 38880 or on gitanosgeles.lt and pick it up at a time that suits you.