12 Best Flowers for Mother’s Day [2024]

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These are the best flowers for Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is a special occasion to celebrate our love and affection for our mothers. Giving them flowers is one of the best ways to express gratitude and appreciation.

The classic choice is red roses. But there are far better choices for your mom; I will reveal them in this article.

Because year after year, I asked myself what to gift my dear mom. It mostly came down to a spontaneous decision last minute. 

Here is a great selection of Mother’s Day flowers to ease the search for you and give you great alternatives to red or pink roses.

The best flowers for Mother’s Day

The best flowers to gift on Mother’s Day are:

1. Roses
2. Tulips
3. Calla Lilies
4. Carnations
5. Orchids
6. Peonies
7. Gerbera Daisies
8. Hydrangea
9. Snapdragons
10. Chrysanthemums
11. Azaleas
12. Eucalyptus

Flowers Ideas for Mother’s Day Video

12 Best Flower Choices For Your Mom

Flowers have always symbolized love, beauty, and purity, making the perfect gift for any occasion.

However, choosing the right flowers can be daunting, especially if you are unfamiliar with the different types of flowers available. Here are some of the best Mother’s Day flowers to make your mom feel special.

1. Roses 

Long-stem roses are a classy choice. Nothing beats red roses. They symbolize admiration. This expresses best what you feel for your mother.

But roses come in various colors, like red, pink, yellow, and white. Red roses symbolize love and passion, while pink roses represent gratitude and appreciation.

Yellow roses are associated with friendship and joy, while white roses symbolize purity and innocence.

Choose a bouquet of roses in your mom’s favorite color or mix and match different colors to create a beautiful arrangement.

Spice it up and change the rose color from year to year.

Care for cut roses in a vase: Use clean water. Add flower food and remove the bottom leaves. Make sure to trim the bottom of the rose stem at a 45-degree angle. This way, roses can take in water and nutrients better.

2. Tulips 

Tulips are another popular choice for Mother’s Day.

Popular colors are pink, purple, yellow, and red.

Pink tulips represent happiness and caring. Purple tulips symbolize royalty and admiration.

Yellow tulips are associated with friendship and joy, while red tulips symbolize love and passion.

Care for cut tulips in a vase: To care for cut tulips, it is best to rehydrate them in 30 cold water between 32-35 degrees Fahrenheit (0-1.7 degrees Celsius). The stems need to be upright. Otherwise, they will take on a different shape.

3. Calla Lilies 

Calla lilies are beautiful, elegant flowers that make a perfect Mother’s Day gift.

Tulips are available in white, pink, and yellow.

White lilies symbolize purity and innocence, while pink lilies represent admiration and appreciation.

Yellow lilies are associated with friendship and joy.

Care for cut calla lilies in a vase: Store them in a cool room before gifting them. Make sure you get plant food from the flower store. Your mother can then put it into the water once you gift the flowers. 2 inches of water is sufficient (5cm). Tell her to change the water in the vase every three days. 

4. Carnations 

Carnations are a classic flower used to express love and gratitude for centuries. Pink, red, white, and yellow are common color varieties.

Pink carnations represent gratitude and appreciation, while red carnations symbolize love and admiration. White carnations are associated with purity and innocence, while yellow carnations represent friendship and joy.

Cut Carnation flower care: These flowers rot easily. Ensure the water level is at 3 inches max (7.5cm). Ensure the water is neither too hard nor too soft. 

5. Orchids

I love Phalaenopsis orchids, and they are also my mother’s favorite. While I am not a big fan of the artificially colored varieties in blue and other colors, I love the classic white moth orchids.

The best thing about gifting orchids is that you usually do not buy and gift them as cut flowers. This means your mother can enjoy them for years to come.

Orchid flower care:  I water my orchids every 2-3 weeks. The best thing is to look at the roots. Water before the roots become gray and pale. I bottom water all my orchids. This way, I do not overwater them. After 20-30 minutes, I remove the orchid pots from the watering container. Make sure you buy orchids in an orchid mix of bark. Orchids are epiphytes and need oxygen flowing to their roots.

6. Peonies

According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, peonies produce bowl-sized blooms. These flowers have a satin feel and come in red, pink, rose, and yellow.

If your mother likes voluminous flowers, this is one to consider.

Peonie cut flower care: As with all cut flowers, exchange the water every 2-3 days. Remove any parts of the stem with a clean knife if you see any parts of the stem rotting. Rinse the flower stem under running water and put it back into the pot.

7. Gerbera Daisies

Gerbera daisies are related to sunflowers and marigolds, says the University of Florida. They have rather large flowers 3-4 inches long (7.5-10cm).

Daisies are long-lasting flowers that can look good in a vase for up to 3 weeks. Your mother will love them.

Gerbera daisies vase care: When cut flowers of gerbera daisies are drooping, bacteria are often the cause. Therefore exchange the water every 3 days and watch out for bacteria buildup that causes rot.

8. Hydrangea

No other plant reminds me as much of my mother as the hydrangea. We used to have a big Hydrangea plant in the garden. It was a magnet for insects such as butterflies. I loved seeing the stunning flowers as a small boy in the summer.

My mother used to cut some of the flowers and put them into vases around the house.

How to care for hydrangea flowers: When putting hydrangea flowers in a vase, add cold water. Warm and lukewarm water is not ideal for rehydrating flowers. Compared to other flowers, you can fill the vase with hydrangeas. Also, exchange the water more often. Change the water every 1-2 days.

9. Snapdragons

Snapdragons range from bright to pastel shades. The available colors are purple, pink, yellow, red, white, orange, peach, bronze, burgundy, bicolored, and multicolored. The flowers are arranged around the stalk.

Due to the unusual look snapdragons, they make for a great flower bouquet or mixed with different-shaped flowers.

Your mother might not know the name of these flowers and might be pleasantly surprised by your choice.

Snapdragons care in a vase: A great trick is adding a teaspoon of sugar and three drops of bleach per gallon of water. Snapdragons love lots of water. Therefore fill the vase and exchange the water ever two days.

10. Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums are also abbreviated to mums. Why not gift a mum to a mum, you ask? Yes, this is the game’s name, and it makes a lot of sense.

Mums come in different colors, and they pop. The globular shape and the pompon form make them eye candy you don’t want to miss.

Chrysanthemums flower care: The general cut flower care applies. Cut Chrysanthemums at a 45-degree angle. Use cold water in a vase and exchange the water every three days. Keep these flowers in a cold place.

11. Azaleas

Azaleas are ideal plants that bloom in spring, right around Mother’s Day. These flowers have a long vase life.

There are more than 10’000 different azalea cultivars.

Azaela cut flower care: Remove the lower leaves before putting them into a vase. Ensure to place the flowers into a vase immediately. Avoiding air bubbles is essential to extend the vase life. If you cut your azaleas for a flower arrangement, cut them off in the morning. The afternoon heat leads to wilting flowers.

12. Eucalyptus

While technically not a flower, eucalyptus stems with leaves look great. You can also use them as part of a flower bouquet. Or you put several stems or petioles, to be specific, together.

Why not create your own flower arrangement with several flowers and eucalyptus branches this year to demonstrate your love for your mother?

Roses and wax flowers look the best with Eucalyptus.

Cut eucalyptus stems care: Trim an inch (2.5cm) off each stem to keep them fresh as long as possible. The water and nutrient intake is better. Create a bundle of eucalyptus stems by tying them together. Alternatively, use several stems as part of a larger flower arrangement. Combine eucalyptus with roses, wax flowers or peonies.

Closing Remarks

Many different types of flowers make the perfect gift for Mother’s Day. Whether you choose roses, tulips, lilies, or carnations, your mother loves you and will love any flower you gift her.

With the suggested best flowers for Mother’s Day, your mother will be pleasantly surprised.