Caring for Your Casket Spray: What to Do After the Funeral Service

The casket spray is the most significant and intimate floral arrangement at a funeral. Lovingly chosen by the immediate family, it sits directly atop the casket, serving as the central visual tribute throughout the visitation and service.

However, once the funeral concludes, many families find themselves facing an unexpected, emotional question: What do we do with the casket spray now?

Leaving this central piece behind can feel wrong, yet its massive size and unique structure make it intimidating to take home. As an experienced local florist serving Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Compassion Flowers has put together this guide to help you respectfully handle, transport, and preserve your casket spray after the service.

Your 4 Options After the Service Concludes

According to Canadian funeral traditions, the casket spray belongs entirely to the immediate family. At the end of the memorial or burial service, you generally have four respectful paths to choose from:

Transport It to the Post-Funeral Reception

Bringing the casket spray to the reception hall, luncheon, or Celebration of Life venue is the most common tradition in Ontario. Placing it on the head table or the guest registry table keeps the memory of your loved one woven into the gathering of family and friends.

Move It to the Family Residence

Many families choose to bring the spray back to a private home, placing it on a large dining room table or an outdoor patio space. It serves as a beautiful, comforting presence during the quiet days following the public service.

Leave It at the Gravesite

If you are holding a traditional cemetery burial, it is customary to leave the casket spray resting gracefully atop the fresh burial mound. It will naturally remain beautiful in the outdoor air for several days, honouring the resting place.

Share the Blooms with Guests

At the end of the service, family members can gently pull individual roses, lilies, or carnations out of the spray and distribute them to close friends and relatives. This allows everyone to take a living piece of the tribute home.

Taking Care of the Flowers Right After the Service

The key to preserving flowers starts as soon as the service ends. Flowers are delicate, so how you handle them right away can make a big difference. 

Be gentle and find a cool, shady place to store them, as heat and sunlight can quickly cause them to wilt. This immediate care is crucial and we want you to be fully prepared for it.

Be Gentle

When removing the spray from the casket, take your time and be gentle so you don’t damage the flowers or crush the petals. 

Once you’ve removed it, store it in a cool, shady place. Heat and sunlight can quickly cause the flowers to wilt.

Keep Them Hydrated

Hydration is everything if you want to keep the flowers fresh for a while. Trim the stems at an angle (this helps them soak up water better) and place them in a vase of lukewarm water. 

If you have floral preservatives, add them. If not, mix your own with water, sugar, vinegar, and bleach. Change the water daily and trim the stems every couple of days to keep the flowers looking fresh.

How to Safely Transport a Casket Spray

If you decide to take the spray with you to a home or reception, moving it requires careful handling. Casket sprays are built into an elongated plastic saddle or heavy floral foam blocks, which can leak water when tilted.

Prepare a Flat Transport Space: Protect Your Vehicle.

Clear out the trunk or fold down the back seats of an SUV or large car. Lay down a plastic tarp, a heavy garbage bag, or an old blanket. Casket sprays are thoroughly saturated with water and floral preservatives before the service, and they will drip during transit.

Lift from the Base Structure: Two-Person Lift.

Never lift a casket spray by grabbing the flower stems or foliage—this will snap the flowers. Have two people lift the arrangement simultaneously by sliding their hands directly under the plastic saddle base or foam tray at both ends.

Secure It Against Shifting: Keep it Level.

Place the spray completely flat on your prepared surface. Do not lean it against the side of the car, as the weight of the arrangement will crush the bottom layer of flowers. Block it with boxes or bags so it doesn't slide around tight turns in the GTA traffic.

3 Ways to Keep the Spray Fresh at Home

Once the spray arrives at its destination, it needs specialized hydration to survive. Because it does not sit in a vase, use these professional florist techniques:

• Pour Water into the Central Saddle: The green floral foam blocks holding the stems are enclosed in a plastic frame. Carefully part the central flowers and slowly pour 1 to 2 cups of cool water directly into the center of the foam every morning to replace lost moisture.

• Keep It in a Cool Room: Keep the arrangement far away from sunny windows, warm fireplaces, or air conditioning vents. If you are keeping it indoors, a cool basement or an unheated sunroom will significantly extend the petals' lifespan.

• Mist the Canopy: Give the top canopy of leaves and petals a light misting with a spray bottle daily to keep the humidity high around the blooms.

Meaningful Ways to Preserve the Flowers

Because of the deep emotional weight attached to a casket spray, you may want to save a part of it permanently. Here are three beautiful preservation methods:

1. Air-Drying the Roses: Hang individual roses or sturdy accent flowers upside down in a dark, dry closet for 2 to 3 weeks. Once fully dry, spray them with a light coat of unscented hairspray to preserve their shape, then display them in a shadow box.

2. Pressed Flower Memorials: Take a few choice petals or flat leaves, place them between sheets of parchment paper, and press them between the pages of a heavy book for a month. You can then frame the pressed flowers alongside a photograph of your loved one or a copy of the funeral program.

3. Memorial Flower Beads: There are specialized Canadian artisans who take dried petals from a casket spray, grind them down, and mix them with high-quality resin to create beautiful memorial jewelry, rosary beads, or keepsake paperweights.

What to Do with Preserved Flowers?

Once you’ve preserved the flowers, there are many ways to use them. Here are a few ideas:

• Framed Art: Arrange pressed flowers in a beautiful frame.

• Shadow Boxes: Combine dried flowers with photos or other keepsakes in a decorative box.

• Jewelry: Use resin to make necklaces, earrings, or bracelets.

• Scrapbooks: Add pressed flowers to memory books filled with photos and stories.

• Potpourri: Use dried petals to create a fragrant blend for your home.

Each project is a way to celebrate and honour your loved one while keeping their memory alive.

Mistakes to Avoid

When preserving flowers, it’s easy to make mistakes that can ruin your efforts. But don't worry; it will help you avoid these pitfalls. Here’s what to watch out for:

• Waiting Too Long: Start preserving the flowers as soon as possible. The fresher they are, the better they’ll turn out.

• Using the Wrong Environment: Too much heat or humidity can cause mould or wilting. Choose a cool, dry place to ensure the best possible outcome for your drying or preserving efforts.

• Overwatering Fresh Flowers: Don’t let the vase water get murky or stagnant if you keep them fresh.

Final Thoughts

By caring for casket spray, you can hold onto those memories a little longer. 

Preserving your casket spray is a beautiful way to honour your loved one, whether you keep the flowers fresh, dry them for keepsakes, or turn them into art.

So, don’t rush. Explore your options, get creative, and take pride in creating something that will last. After all, preserving the beauty of a casket spray is about keeping the love and memories it represents.