Few things in life compare to a vase stuffed to the brim with fresh flowers; flowers that bring hope, beauty, and new life to a home. Unfortunately, however, fresh-cut flowers have a limited lifespan.
There are fortunately some secrets to keeping your cut flowers fresh for longer. The aim is to minimize bacterial growth in vase water and provide cuts stems with the nourishment needed for the flower buds. This is one of the reasons rose bouquets often come with sachet accessories that contain sugar and a mild disinfectant. However, there is a range of other methods you can explore to prevent flowers from drooping and wilting within days of arrival if you are lucky enough to receive a roses delivery online.
So, without further ado, here are a few tips for keeping your flowers fresher for longer:
1. Cut carefully
Cut flowers will always last longer if stems are cut and prepared correctly. Ensure the cut is at a 45-degree angle and around 1 inch up from the base. Doing so will ensure stems retain the ability to uptake water quickly.
Never use dull scissors. Blunt blades will crush the stem. For the best cuts, cut the stems under water submersion—a sink containing cold tap water will work as a water bath—to stop any air getting into the tubes in the flower stem.
2. Think deep water
Place stems in the deepest water possible for six or so hours before you move them to shallower containers.
Once you’ve filled a vase with water, ensure you remove all leaves on the stem up to the water level—doing so will not only help the flower heads, but it will also ensure the water is kept cleaner.
To avoid airlocks occurring in flowers like tulips, be sure to pierce stems with a fine needle.
3. Keep them fresh
With properly cut flowers and vase at hand, you need to understand that commercial flower food is not the be-all and end-all. Here are some alternative agents to help keep your flowers fresh for longer:
Lemonade
Yes, we did say lemonade! Not the diet kind of course. The sugar in traditional lemonade will nourish flowering plants, ensuring they stay in bloom for longer. If you wish to place your flowers in a clear vase and for visual appeal want the water to look clear, just use 7UP, Sprite, or any other type of clear lemonade.
Over the years, we’ve experimented with a range of lemonade brands and found that fizzy lemonade— the bubbliest possible—offers the best results for those wanting long-lasting blooms.
Sugar
While not as good as lemonade, regular caster or granulated sugar can work wonders for sprucing up flowers—just add a spoonful or two to the vase water.
Aspirin
So it’s not organic, but aspirin is a fine agent for prolonging the life of your flowers. All you need to do is to crush up a few aspirin tablets and add them to the vase water. For even better results, use dispersible aspirin tablets.
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