Baby's Breath

Flower care guide

Baby's Breath

A cloud of tiny white flowers. Out of fashion for years as a filler, and now used on its own by the armful, which is where it looks best.

In season

Year round.

Also known as

Gypsophila, gyp

Caring for your baby's breath

Recut the stems at an angle and strip the lower foliage, of which there is a surprising amount.

Change the water every three days. It has a distinctive smell when the water goes stale, which is a useful reminder.

The best thing about gypsophila is what happens at the end. Stop changing the water and let it evaporate away. The flowers dry in position and hold their shape and colour. Most people never realise this and throw away a bunch that was about to become permanent.

Baby's breath dries where it stands, so an arrangement of it quietly becomes a dried arrangement without anyone doing anything.

Arrangements with this flower