Keep cut flowers fresh longer

A gorgeous bouquet of cut flowers can die within a couple of days unless you take steps to keep them alive longer. Here are some suggestions:

1. Make sure they’re in a vase that gives them plenty of room. If you got them from a florist, this may already be taken care of.
2. You should only fill the vase about three inches, because more than that will start to decay the stems. Keep refilling it to the three inch mark, though, so they don’t go thirsty. Use lukewarm water, about 100 to 110 degreed Fahrenheit.
3. Remove any leaves below the waterline. (Leave thorns intact on roses.)
4. Put the stems under running water. Cut off an inch from the bottom, at a 45 degree angle so the stem can “drink” more water. Don’t use scissors, which squish the internal structure of the stem. Use a sharp knife. Also, split the stem about an inch up from the cut to give it even more access to water.
5. Put them into the vase.
6. Keep them in away from direct sunlight.
7. Every other day, trim a quarter inch off the bottom of the stems, at an angle, and change out the water in the vase. Prune dead or tightly closed buds so they don’t steal nutrients from the healthy flowers.

Some other assorted tips:

• Avoid aspirin! People used to say that putting aspirin in the flowers’ water would keep them alive longer, but that isn’t true.
• Real Simple tested some theories – putting a penny, sugar, bleach, Listerine, etc. into the water – and found the best solution was… drum roll, please… adding plant food to the water. You can get this at a florist or the garden center in a store. If you prefer, you can make your own plant food by using a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of bleach and two teaspoons of lemon juice. The three ingredients work together to feed the plant, kill bacteria and balance the ph.

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Posted in Do It Yourself on April 13, 2008