Preserving cut flowers

How to Make Flowers Last Longer: 8 Pro Tricks

If you're looking for a way to make those Valentine's Day roses, graduation bouquet, or anniversary arrangement bloom vibrantly and stay fresh for a few more days, try one of these tips that use household ingredients to make your flowers last longer.

1 / 8

iStock/karandaev

Soda

Don’t throw away those last drops of soda! Pour about 1/4 cup into the water in a vase full of cut flowers. The sugar in the soda will make the blossoms last longer. Note: If you have a clear vase and want the water to remain clear, use a clear soda, like Sprite or 7-Up.

2 / 8

iStock/Lee Rogers

Hair Spray

Just as it preserves your hairstyle, a spritz of hair spray can help your cut flowers look fresh longer. Stand a foot away from the bouquet and give them a quick spray, just on the undersides of the leaves and petals.

More clever uses for hair spray »

3 / 8

iStock/DENIO RIGACCI

Apple Cider Vinegar

Everyone likes to keep cut flowers around as long as possible, and there are several good methods. One way is to mix 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons sugar with the vase water before adding the flowers. Be sure to change the water (with more vinegar and sugar, of course) every few days to enhance your flowers’ longevity.

More clever uses for apple cider vinegar »

4 / 8

iStock/karandaev

Vodka

The secret to keeping cut flowers looking good as long as possible is to minimize the growth of bacteria in the water and to provide nourishment to replace what the flower would have gotten had it not been cut. Add a few drops of vodka (or any clear spirit) to the vase water for antibacterial action along with 1 teaspoon sugar. Change the water every other day, refreshing the vodka and sugar each time.

More clever uses for vodka »

5 / 8

iStock/eurobanks

Aspirin

It’s a tried-and-true way to keep roses and other cut flowers fresh longer: Put a crushed aspirin in the water before adding your flowers. Also, don’t forget to change the vase water every few days.

6 / 8

iStock/DebbiSmirnoff

Bleach

Freshly cut flowers will last longer if you add 1/4 teaspoon bleach per quart (1 liter) of vase water. Another popular recipe calls for 3 drops bleach and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1 quart (1 liter) water. This will also keep the water from getting cloudy and inhibit the growth of bacteria.

More clever uses for bleach »

7 / 8

iStock/TokenPhoto

Coins

Your posies and other cut flowers will last longer if you add a copper penny and a cube of sugar to the vase water. The copper in pennies is thought to act like an acidifier, which prevents the growth of bacteria.

8 / 8

iStock/PhotoMelon/Shutterstock

Sugar

Make your own preservative to keep cut flowers fresh longer. Dissolve 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons white vinegar per quart (liter) of warm water. When you fill the vase, make sure the cut stems are covered by 3-4 inches (7-10 centimeters) of the prepared water. The sugar nourishes the plants, while the vinegar inhibits bacterial growth. You’ll be surprised how long the arrangement stays fresh.

Originally Published: January 22, 2016

Originally Published in Reader's Digest

How Florists Keep Flowers Alive Longer – Green Fresh Florals + Plants

Extend the life of your flowers with these tips

It doesn't matter whether you’re growing flowers in your garden or purchasing your flowers from a flower retailer we want to help you make your flowers last. We compiled a short article detailing how florists keep flowers alive longer. These simple and easy tips will help you preserve your flowers so they last longer and extend the happiness they bring into your life and home. At Green Fresh Florals + Plants, we pride ourselves in delivering the freshest cut flowers to maximize the life of your arrangement and the joy our flowers bring into your world.

Here are the tricks we share with our customers so they can extend the life of their cut flowers. Some of you may already know and use all of these tricks; some may be new. Either way, I hope you find them helpful in keeping cut flowers alive longer.

1. Always cut the stems before placing in water

If you purchase your flowers, you should always cut the stems before putting them in water. If you are buying an arrangement from a professional florist, they should already be cut, and your flowers will be good for a few days. However, it’s still important to clip the stems after a few days to allow fresh water to penetrate the flower's stem. It also is helpful to replace the water every couple of days.

2. Cut back or remove the extra leaves

Before you place your cut flowers in a vase, take some time to remove any extra leaves at the base of the stem if the leaves would likely rest under the waterline of the container. Eliminating the foliage will decrease any bacteria in the water, helping keep the water clean and free of foul odors. This will also allow the focus of the bloom on the flowers, enabling them to stay fresh longer. Pruning fresh flowers and removing leaves is a regular part of our daily flower care at Green.

3. Choose the right size vase or container

Picking the correct vase size is an essential element in the life of your cut flower arrangement. Our trained florists can help you choose the right vase or container size to ensure that the clipped stems fit nicely into the opening or mouth. If the opening is too narrow, the flower stems might look cramped or squished so either remove some of the flower stems to create a smaller bunch or find a larger vase to utilize. In the opposite direction, If the mouth of your vase is too wide, the arrangement will not have any form or shape. If you're not sure, ask one of our friendly florists to help you decide from the many options we have available online or in our Hillcrest shop. Some work best for short and stocky arrangements, while others are better for tall and showy designs. Our team can help you make the right choice.

One option that often scares beginners is using a low vase such as a cube or small bowl because it requires a significant trim to the length of the flower stems. To make the flowers fit you will need to cut the stems down which can cause some anxiety for those just learning.

If you are trying to get your flowers to open up, substitute warm water for cold water. The warm temperature will help facilitate the opening of the bloom. After they open, you will want to use cold water when you replace the water.

4.

Change the water every two days

Fresh, clean water will keep your cut flowers alive longer. Remove the flowers from the vase every two or three days, rinse the vase out, and fill it with fresh water. If you have dying foliage, be sure to remove it.

Placing your arrangement in the fridge overnight will also help extend your flower's life. While this may be a challenge depending on the size of the arrangement, it is a nifty trick that will do wonders for your flower's life, especially in the summertime.

5. Remove dying flowers

Everything has a season, and there will be a time when some of your flowers will start to fade and turn dark. After several days, you may notice some individual flowers begin to wilt or die.

To continue to enjoy your blooming flowers remove the dead or dying blooms as they detract from the beauty and will begin to grow mold and contaminate the healthy flowers. This will keep your arrangement looking fresh longer.

6. Place your arrangement in the best location

Keeping your cut flowers in the right place can directly impact the life of the flowers. Placing your arrangement in a shaded, cool area that receives indirect sunlight helps preserve the blooms as opposed to bright, direct sunlight and heat. Remember, cooler is better with the exception of tropical blooms which prefer the heat and humidity (like orchids).

One additional tip: If your flowers arrive with a small packet of flower "food,” be sure to use it. While the ingredients vary depending on the manufacturer, most contain sugar to feed the flowers, acid to maintain the pH levels of the water, and a bit of bleach to reduce the bacteria and fungi in the vase water. All three help extend the life of the flowers.

How to keep cut flowers longer?

home
Blog
How to keep cut flowers longer? 🌹

back

A gifted flower arrangement can please the hostess if properly cared for. Cut flowers experience some stress after we deprive them of their natural source of moisture and nutrition, so it is important to provide them with comfortable conditions. More often, plants wither due to lack of water or a decrease in sugars. This usually happens if the vessels of the plant are clogged with air bubbles.

To prevent such a nuisance, it is important to cut the stem correctly before placing the flowers in water. There are still a lot of nuances, having familiarized with which even a non-professional florist will know - how to keep cut flowers fresh for a long time?

How to properly prepare flowers?

Caring for cut flowers requires care and knowledge. Before putting flowers in a vase, they need to be prepared. The presented bouquet will have fresh and correct cuts. To refresh them, just hold them under running cold water. Pay attention to the bottom of the bouquet - remove the lower leaves from the stem. If the composition is made up of flowers with a soft stem, the cut should be long and oblique, and in the case of a hard stem, a more even cut is made. To preserve the fresh aroma, the flowers are sprayed with cold water from a spray bottle. Also, florists recommend crushing the bottom of the stem (about 2 cm) with a hammer - this will increase the moisture absorption surface and allow the flowers to delight you with their beauty for a longer period. If you are doing everything right and cannot understand why cut flowers still wither, pay attention to the following recommendation.

Don't forget to feed. Depending on the flower, a special top dressing is added to the vase with water - useful vitamins, which also affect the "service life" of the donated plant.

Water disinfection

Spring water does not flow in the taps, it would be unreasonable to put a fresh bouquet in it. Let's analyze the question of how to keep fresh flowers longer with the help of water purification. No need to use expensive filters and special chemicals. Boil running water and cool it - this will save it from harmful substances. You can go the opposite way by turning the liquid into ice - melt water is good for plants. You can disinfect water with a piece of charcoal - just put it in the bottom of a vase and it will do its job. Florists can afford to add one drop of whiteness or any detergent - this will stop the growth of bacteria in the water.

Flower dressing

Next, let's look at how to prolong the life of cut flowers with the power of special dressings.

Tulips and lilacs last much longer if a few cubes of sugar or sugar syrup are added to the water.
Aspirin helps keep roses fresh - drop one tablet into the vase after changing the water.
Plants with thick stems (chrysanthemums, gerberas, calla lilies) love acid, so a moderate dose of lemon juice in water will be a top dressing for such cut flowers.
Bush flowers (alstroemeria, lisianthus, peonies, daffodils) are perfectly preserved in water with a drop of potassium permanganate.
For a bouquet of asters, a teaspoon of alcohol per liter of water will be a good top dressing.

Where to put the bouquet?

Finding a location is very important if you want to know how to keep your cut flowers fresh.

Roses are picky. You should not put the bouquet in a place that is too hot - it is necessary to provide a temperature of 20-22 degrees. Also note that the flowers should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
Tulips love sunlight, so if you are wondering how to store cut flowers in a vase, put the composition on the windowsill - you will immediately notice how the flower buds will continue to grow, feeding on daylight and warmth.
Gerberas, daisies, carnations and chrysanthemums are not picky in nature, so they can be placed anywhere you like.
Bouquets of cut flowers of peonies or lisianthus are also best protected from the sun and provide a slight coolness.

How to care for cut flowers?

To summarize, we have outlined the principles for caring for cut flowers:

Plants should be cut every day
Change the water in the vase regularly and don't forget to feed
Don't forget to pick off wilted buds and petals so that they don't take moisture away from viable ones
Spray large leaves with a spray bottle
Observe color compatibility

By following simple rules, you can keep a fragrant composition for 1-2 weeks. Some flowers, with proper care, can please you for more than 20 days! Therefore, armed with knowledge, you can easily achieve the desired result!

Published: 03. 02.2017
Author: RuCvetok

How to save cut flowers? | Plants

Most cut flowers keep best at around 5 degrees Celsius. That is, even an ordinary household refrigerator is suitable for storing them. The shelf life is on average 5 days, although, of course, fresh flowers have individuality, and the allowable shelf life for different flowers will not be the same.

For example, for irises or tulips during storage, it is desirable to lower the temperature to 2 degrees, and for symbidium orchids (the most common orchids that can be seen on sale) and anthuriums, increase to 8 degrees. However, phalinopsis orchids should be stored at room temperature.

Tulips, chrysanthemums, carnations are stored in the refrigerator in a dry state, but most flowers are best immediately "connected" to the water supply by immersing the end of the stem just cut with a sharp knife into any, even a very small, reservoir of water. Photo: Depositphotos

After the end of the storage period, before placing in a vase, the flowers should be cut diagonally again. All leaves that fall into the water must be removed.

All cut flowers, although to varying degrees, are affected by drafts, direct sunlight, ethylene gas from fruits and withering parts of plants.

The life of most flowers can usually be extended with the help of special products (eg, krizal) sold in flower shops in the form of a powder or dissolved. In order not to burn the stems of plants, we recommend that the powder be completely dissolved in a small amount of water beforehand.

Rose : storage temperature - 5 degrees. For storage, roses should be tightly wrapped with heads in wrapping paper and immersed in a standing position in water as deep as possible, but so that the heads do not fall into the water. If you do not plan to store roses, anyway, before putting them in a vase, it is advisable to “drink” them using the same wrapping method and keep it that way for at least three hours.
Roses
Photo: Depositphotos

For roses, it is better to use boiled or raw settled water with chrysal. Spikes that fall under water should be broken off. The cut through which the power enters is best made as long as possible. If krizal is not added to the water, it is better to change it once a day, each time updating the cut of the flower stem.

A fresh rose with proper care can stand for 30 days. However, the rose is exceptionally sensitive to air bubbles and bacteria that hinder the absorption of moisture, which often leads to rapid wilt in the home.

Cloves : storage temperature 5 degrees without water. The carnation is a hardy flower and can stand for about two weeks without any special care. The water in the vase should be at room temperature. If you are not using krizal, add an aspirin tablet, its effect will gradually increase the decorative effect of the carnation.

Iris highly dependent on moisture. Make sure that he is as little as possible without water. The optimum storage temperature is 2 degrees. And even when placing irises in a vase, keep the water chilled with ice cubes. Flowers should not be placed too deep in water - to prevent the formation of rot. Chrysal contributes to the preservation of the flower. Photo: Depositphotos

Narcissus : storage temperature - 2-5 degrees. The juice released into the water by daffodils is harmful to other flowers. If you want to put daffodils together with other flowers, let them stand separately for a day beforehand.

Tulip : storage temperature 2-5 degrees without water. He likes very cold water, it is possible with pieces of ice. The stem of a tulip that has just been placed in water tends to bend. If you do not want the flowers to stand in a vase, arbitrarily arching in different directions, hold the tulips for several hours in water with the stems fixed. Fixation can be done with paper, tightly wrapping the stems with it.

Freesia : storage temperature 2-5 degrees. Freesia is highly dependent on moisture.

Anemones should be unwrapped from the cellophane they are sold in, cut off the stems and placed upright in the chrysal solution for storage. The optimum storage temperature is 2 degrees. Even at room temperature, the anemone can stand in water with a chrysal for about two weeks. Bouquet with red anemones in vase
Photo: Depositphotos

Hyacinth : storage temperature - 2-5 degrees. Hyacinth is usually sold with a bulb, and it is better to put it in a vase directly with the bulb.

Hippeastrum can be stored dry at 5-10 degrees. When placing a flower in a vase, we recommend filling the stem with water and plugging it with cotton wool. Hippeastrum can stand in a vase for a week or more, gradually blooming buds.

Peony : storage temperature - 5 degrees. If you want a tight peony bud to open right before your eyes, place the flower in hot water.

Matthiola : storage temperature - 8-10 degrees. The use of krizal prolongs the life of the plant. The flower is sensitive to ethylene. The container in which the matthiol will stand must be well washed. It is important to keep the water clean and change it as needed.

Gerbera : storage temperature - 5 degrees. It should be placed shallowly in water - both during storage and in a vase: the filling height is 4-5 cm. It is useful to rub the cut of the stem with salt. Gerbera stems, like tulips, are prone to arching. Here you can use the same methods of fixing the stem. Gerbera flowers of various colors
Photo: Depositphotos

Lilia : storage temperature - 5 degrees. A rather unpretentious flower, it costs about a week; at the same time, new buds gradually bloom at the lily, and the old ones die off. Lily does not require special care, but is susceptible to ethylene.

Dahlia : storage temperature - 5 degrees. Dahlia will last longer in water with vinegar. Before placing in a vase, the stem should be filled with water and plugged with cotton wool.

Gladiolus : storage temperature - 8-10 degrees. Cut gladioli continue to grow, tending to top up. Therefore, if you put them horizontally, the stem may be bent. Gladioli are highly dependent on water.

Alstroemeria : storage temperature - 5 degrees. Alstroemeria is a persistent flower, lives for about two weeks and does not require any special care. Alstroemeria, flowers in a vase
Photo: Depositphotos

Symbidium Orchid: storage temperature — 8−10 degrees. Keeps decorative for two weeks, and sometimes more. Drops of water on the flowers can cause stains. Sensitive to ethylene gas. Individual flowers, placed in plain water, last longer than the branch in a test tube, with which it is usually sold.

Anthurium : storage temperature - 8-10 degrees. Refers to long standing flowers. It is best that the anthurium section be placed in an individual test tube with a special solution. Anthuriums supplied from Holland are placed in such a test tube immediately after cutting. The cut may turn brown from time to time, in which case the flower should be cut.

Ornithogalum : a very persistent flower on a long graceful stem with gradually opening buds, reaching its maximum decorative effect after about a week of standing in a vase. These flowers do not require special care. Bird farmer or Ornithogalum
Photo: Depositphotos

Bouvardia is very dependent on water. Afraid of drafts. Does not tolerate ethylene gas. Storage temperature - 8-10 degrees. To prolong life, you can use krizal.

Eustoma : storage temperature - 8-10 degrees.

Euphorbia : The optimum storage temperature is 8 degrees. After cutting, we recommend dipping the euphorbia trunk in boiling water for a few seconds to stop the loss of milky juice. This will extend the life of the plant. The plant is sensitive to ethylene gas. Euphorbia can shorten the life of other flowers placed in the same vase with it.

In lilac , all leaves should be removed and the tip of the stem broken with a hammer - this will slightly extend the very short life of the cut branch.

Wildflowers will live noticeably longer if they are placed in water with chrysal, after removing the leaves that fall under the water and renewing the cut of the stem.