Cemetery Flower Rules: What You Can Leave at a Grave, and When It Gets Removed

Every cemetery sets its own rules about what can be placed at a grave, and almost every cemetery has clean-up days when decorations are removed. Knowing the rules for the cemetery you care about means your flowers stay where you put them, and it saves the sadness of arriving to find them gone.

The rules most cemeteries share

• Nothing that mowers have to work around. Flowers are usually allowed at the headstone or in a vase, not scattered on the lawn. Anything in the grass is likely to be removed before mowing.
• Breakable containers are out. Glass vases and ceramic pots are banned almost everywhere because they shatter under mowers. Metal or plastic vases, or arrangements with a ground stake, are the norm.
• Fresh flowers are cleared when they wilt. Grounds crews remove dead flowers on a rolling basis, often within a week in summer.
• Seasonal clean-ups. Many cemeteries clear all decorations at set times, typically early spring before mowing season starts and again in the fall. Holiday decorations are often cleared a set number of days after the holiday.
• Size and number limits. Some cemeteries allow one arrangement per grave, or limit the height of anything placed.

National cemeteries

Fresh-cut flowers are welcome at any time at Veterans Affairs national cemeteries, but beyond that each cemetery posts its own floral rules, and they differ more than most people expect. Some allow artificial flowers year-round; others only in a winter window or for the days around Memorial Day, Easter and Veterans Day. Permanent plantings, statues, glass and most decorative items are not allowed. Our national cemeteries pages list each one's posted rules. Arlington National Cemetery is run by the Army and has its own rules, covered in our guide to Arlington's flower rules.

Church and municipal cemeteries

Church cemeteries and small town cemeteries often have the loosest written rules and the most active caretakers. A caretaker who knows the families may leave a well-kept arrangement alone for months. The same caretaker will clear anything that looks abandoned. A rule of thumb: if it still looks cared for, it usually stays.

Large private cemeteries

Corporate-run memorial parks tend to have the most detailed rules, posted at the office and on their website: approved vase types, no ground stakes, decorations allowed only in the vase, and firm clean-up dates. If you are sending flowers to a memorial park, the vase that comes with the marker is usually the safest place for them.

How to find the rules for a specific cemetery

1. Look for a sign at the entrance. Most cemeteries post their decoration policy there.
2. Check the cemetery's website, or the website of the city or county for municipal cemeteries.
3. Call the office. Two questions cover most of it: "What can be placed at the grave?" and "When do you clear decorations?"

Timing flowers around clean-up days

The single most useful thing to know is the clean-up schedule. Flowers placed the week before a spring clean-up may be gone within days; flowers placed the week after will stay for months. For holidays, deliver a few days before the holiday, not a few days after, since post-holiday clearing is common. A scheduled plan with a delivery each season naturally lands flowers right after each clearing, when the grave has just been tidied and the flowers will stay longest.