When you receive (or give yourself) a beautiful bouquet of flowers, they look great for a day or two before they start to fade. But you can make fresh-cut flowers last longer. Whether you grab some from your garden or receive them as a gift, try our tricks for extending the life of your bouquet.
Cutting Fresh Flowers for Long Life
There are a few things to keep in mind if you are cutting flowers for an arrangement in your home, as a gift, or to sell at a farmer's market. Try these tips for longer blooms to brighten anyone's day.
- Cut them in the morning when the blossoms are fresher, and the sugar content is highest. If you can't cut them in the morning, opt for late afternoon when it is cooler outside.
- Use a sharp (not serrated) knife, not scissors, to cut stems without crushing them.
- Cut stems at an angle to allow water to penetrate a larger surface area of the stem.
- Immediately after cutting, place the flowers in a bucket of water. It's best if the water is slightly warm because this will allow it to fill the stem more easily. This is a critical step. Failure to do so will result in air bubbles forming in the stem. Air bubbles will prevent water from getting into the flower resulting in a short-lived blossom.
- If the flowers you're selecting have been grown from bulbs, like tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths, place them in cold water after cutting them.
- Cut flowers like roses, daffodils, and irises as buds so they last longer.
- Remove from the stems any leaves that will be below the water level in a vase. Don't remove thorns as this will shorten the life of the flower.
Extending the Life of Store-Bought Bouquets
If you have been given, or just purchased, a bouquet from a florist or supermarket, you can help your arrangement to add beauty to your home for a longer than average period.
- Re-cut flower stems at the opposite angle that they were originally cut. This will open the stem and allow more water to get inside.
- Cut stems under water to prevent air from getting inside the stem.
- Add the preservative that came with your bouquet to warm water and then place your flowers in the water. The preservative feeds your flowers with sugar while it disinfects to kill bacteria that could prematurely kill your flowers.
More Tips for Preserving Fresh-Cut Flowers
Here are a few more tips for preserving fresh-cut flowers, wherever they were grown. Remember these simple tricks to keep your blooms fresher longer.
- Your flowers' water should be completely changed, not just topped off, every two to three days. Water that sits longer can encourage bacteria to grow which will cause flowers to wilt.
- Re-cut stems every time you change their water so as much water can be absorbed as possible.
- Daffodils should be alone in a fresh bouquet. They release a compound that will cause other flowers to die too soon.
- Remove dead flowers immediately because they release ethylene gas. This will cause the rest of the flowers to die as well. Ethylene gas is also released by fruit, so don't put your vase next to a bowl of fruit if you want your arrangement to last.
- Keep your bouquet out of drafts, direct sun, or heat to prevent them from wilting early.
- Place your vase in a cool place, like your refrigerator, at night to keep flowers fresh and bright.
- With each water change, add a preservative to the water. You can make your own by putting a crushed aspirin and a tablespoon of sugar in the water.
Good to the Very End
Even following these easy tips, your fresh flowers can't last forever. But you'll enjoy them a lot longer with our simple tips.
