ways to make cut flowers last longer
Ways to Make Cut Flowers Last Longer
There's nothing as picturesque as a vase of beautiful vibrant flowers on a table or as a centerpiece in a room. There are ways to make sure your blooms stay fresh and alive for more than just one or two days. Scroll below to learn some simple techniques for keeping your fresh flowers.
- Use the right tools like shears or a sharp knife.
- Cut the flowers above a node or bud, so that the plant is encouraged to grow new blooms.
- Roses, daffodils and irises should be cut as buds on the plant, so they will open and bloom after being cut.
- Flowers such as marigold and delphiniums should be cut when they are open and blooming.
- Cut the stem at a slant or angle, not a flat or straight cut. This sort of cut allows the stem to soak up more water and reduces air bubbles.
- Remove leaves and thorns that will be submerged in water when arranged, keep only the top foliage intact.
- Do not remove rose thorns, no matter where they are on the cut stem. Removing thorns shortens the cut flower's life.
- Store the cut blooms in lukewarm water immediately. Do not use cold water.
- With flowers grown from bulbs like tulips and daffodils, place the cut flowers in cold water.
- How to make cut flowers last longer? Firstly do not place cut flowers in a warm, humid location. This will cause the flowers to wilt and age.
- Do not place flowers near open fruit or vegetables.
- Place cut flowers in a cold, airy location, which is not too bright or in direct sunlight.
- At night, keep your cut flowers in the coldest room in the house. This will help them last longer.
- To make your flowers last longer, recut their stems by ½ or 1 inch every week. This gets rid of any air bubbles that may have collected.
- Arrange your blooms in a glass vase, with plenty of space between the blooms. Avoid overcrowding a vase as lack of air encourages wilting.
- Flowers like clean vases. Dirt in vases transfers bacteria to your flowers, causing them to wilt faster. Clean the vase once a week by washing them with hot water and soap and then rinsing well.
- Remove dead flowers and foliage from the vase as they come.
- Keep watering the flowers. Act as if they are still attached to the plant and change their water every 2 days.
- You should get rid of the old water and put fresh lukewarm water in the vase. Do not top off the water in the vases.
- Fresh water is the best way to make flowers last longer. For hyacinths, tulips and daffodils, use cold water to keep them fresh and beautiful.
- 1-2 copper pennies
- 1 aspirin
- 1 tablespoon of sugar mixed with 1 quarter teaspoon of bleach
- ¼ bleach per 1 liter of vase water
- ¼ cup of 7-up or soda
- 2-3 drops of lemon juice
- Dabbing a little alum on the cut stem
- Use a commercial floral preservative made of biocides, acidifiers and sugar