The claim that a picked flower is biologically dead at the moment of excision is refuted by postharvest physiology. Cut flowers remain metabolically active, respiring, and capable of senescence, growth, and enzymatic defense for days or weeks after being cut.
The retrieved literature extensively covers postharvest physiology in cut flowers, detailing ongoing metabolic activity, respiration, enzyme regulation, gene expression, and cellular responses (such as vase life extension and senescence). None of the papers support the idea that a flower dies instantly upon being cut; rather, they demonstrate that harvested flowers remain biologically alive and undergo a gradual postharvest aging process.