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How to Make Flowers Last Longer: 9 Tricks

Flowers are a common gift for any of life’s special occasions and even the moments in between. A bouquet of bright blooms can bring cheer to any space and leave a lasting impression, even after they’re gone. Whether you’ve received an anniversary arrangement, a graduation bouquet or picked out a gorgeous bunch for the coffee table, you’ll want to enjoy them for as long as possible.

The sad truth is that flower bouquets don’t last forever. On the bright side, there are guidelines and little known tips you can use to ensure the longevity of your flowers. We are uncovering everything you need to know about how to make flowers last longer and even putting a few theories to the test.

Flower Care Tips

The first step to making your flowers stay fresh longer is by following a few flower care guidelines. Use the tips below to to extend the life of your blooms from the start.

Cut the Stems One of the most common mistakes people make after receiving flowers is forgetting to cut the stems. Use garden shears to trim one to two inches off and cut at an angle. Cutting the stems at an angle allows for better water intake since they aren’t sitting flat on the bottom of a vase. After the initial cut, be sure to re-trim your bouquet once every few days.

Prune Remove any leaves below the water line. It will not only make your bouquet look better, but also prevent bacterial growth. Some flowers, like roses, have guard petals which are the two or three outermost petals of the flower. Removing these will allow your flower to open up fully. After your initial pruning, you should check your flowers daily for dead or loose leaves and petals in order to avoid bacterial rot.

Water Wisely It’s not only important to get your bouquet hydrated, but to do so wisely. Your flowers won’t last long without water, especially once their stems have been cut. After picking out a clean vase, fill it with room temperature water and add in a packet of flower food. Make sure that the packet has been properly mixed and that the water is not too diluted or too concentrated. It’s also important to clean your vase thoroughly and change out the water and flower food every two to three days.

Avoid Direct Sunlight, Heat, Drafts and Fruit Your flowers will last longer in a room with cool temperatures. Avoid displaying them in direct sunlight or near appliances that generate heat. You’ll also want to avoid areas like open windows, heating or cooling vents and ceiling fans as they can cause the flowers to quickly dehydrate. You also shouldn’t display your bouquet near fruit. That’s right, ripening fruits release tiny amounts of ethylene gas which can reduce the longevity of your fresh arrangement.

In addition to general care, people have also been experimenting with different ways to make flowers last longer. Think household remedies like adding pennies, aspirin and even vodka to your flower water.

9 Interesting ways to Make Flowers Last Longer

There’s no need to keep asking yourself how to make flowers last longer. Surprisingly, you might have a few things lying around the house that can help you enjoy your bouquets. Check out the interesting list of household remedies below:

Sure these theories sound convincing, but which ones actually improve the life of your bouquets?

We were curious too, so we put a few flower care strategies to the test. We took the nine most popular theories for how to make flowers last longer in a controlled environment, here’s what we found out.

The Setup

We started with nine of the same ProFlowers bouquets. In each vase, we added one ProFlowers flower food packet and lukewarm water. Then each of the vases received one of the following flower care tricks and there was one control vase that received no treatment. On day three, we changed out the water, cleaned the vase and added the same ingredients back in.

Check out what each of these tricks claim to do, how to make the concoctions yourself and what happened over the next seven days below:

Apple Cider Vinegar and Sugar: Mix 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water into a vase before adding your flowers. Vinegar acts as an antibacterial agent while the sugar acts as additional flower food. Although apple cider vinegar and sugar didn’t take the title as the worst result, it did come in a close second.

Aspirin: Mix 1 crushed aspirin into your vase of fresh flowers. Aspirin is said to lower the pH level of the water allowing it to travel through the flower faster, preventing wilting. Aspirin might be the solution to a head ache, but it’s not your best bet for keeping your flowers fresh.

Bleach: Add ¼ teaspoon of bleach to your vase of fresh flowers and they should stay fresh longer, at least that’s what they say. Bleach will keep your water from getting cloudy as well as help fight bacteria. The bleach did indeed keep the water in the vase from getting too cloudy although, it didn’t stand out in keeping the bouquet fresh.

Coins: Add a copper penny to your fresh bouquet. The copper should act as an acidifier, fighting the bacteria growth in your arrangement. On Day 4, the blooms with the copper penny opened up nicely. In fact, it may have caused the flowers to open too quickly resulting in a few wilting flowers by day 7.

Flower Food: Adding flower food to your vase of fresh flowers is a tried and true way to keep your blooms fresh longer. Each of our tested bouquets also received a packet of flower food along with their treatment.

Fridge: Put your bouquet in the fridge every night before bed (typically 8 hours per night.) Flowers are said to thrive in cooler temperatures. It is thought that the low temps help slow the aging. Looks like floral bouquets like to stay nice and cool. The bouquet that went in the fridge overnight came in first place and is the best way to make flowers last longer. This bouquet was looking healthy even on day 10.

Hair Spray: Spritz your fresh blooms with hairspray. There’s not much science to back this theory, but it holds your hair in place so it should work, right? Wrong. Whatever home remedy you decide to try to keep your flowers alive, it should not be spritzing the petals with hairspray. We recommend avoiding doing so at all costs. The hairspray came in last place being the worst way to make flowers last longer.

Soda: Pour ¼ cup of soda in a vase full of fresh flowers. The sugar in soda is said to make your blooms last longer and even smelling sweeter too. Looks like flowers enjoy some extra sweetness, the soda came in as our runner up trick to making flowers last longer. In fact, even on day 10 the soda bouquet was looking just as healthy as day 1 with the only difference being the flowers opening up more.

Vodka: Add a few drops of vodka (or any clear spirit) to your vase of flowers. Vodka is said to have a different effect on flowers. The spirit’s ability to inhibit ethylene production, a ripening gas that helps plants mature, slows the wilting of the flowers. This proved true and although vodka didn’t take the cake as the best way to keep flowers fresh longer, it did come in as  third runner up.

The results are in! Ever wonder why florists keep their bouquets in the fridge? Well, now you know…

Looks like making sure your flowers are nice and chill is the best way to keep them fresh longer. You can also try adding a little lemon-lime soda to your water mixture. On the other hand, just because a spritz of hairspray will keep your hair in place doesn’t mean it will keep your bouquet of flowers fresh. In fact, we recommend avoiding the hairspray method altogether.

Now that you have some extra tricks up your sleeve for ensuring the longevity of your bouquets, you should try one out yourself! Browse our collection of same day flower delivery and find the perfect bouquet for any celebration or surprise someone with flowers for no reason at all!

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Please Note: The bouquet pictured reflects our original design for this product. While we always try to follow the color palette, we may replace stems to deliver the freshest bouquet possible, and we may sometimes need to use a different vase.

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Please Note: The bouquet pictured reflects our original design for this product. While we always try to follow the color palette, we may replace stems to deliver the freshest bouquet possible, and we may sometimes need to use a different vase.

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There is something about the shade of blue that brings a sense of calmness and serenity. Our Beyond Blue bouquet is designed with billowing white blooms and pops of bold florals to deliver just the right sentiment for any reason.

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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.

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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.

More clever uses for soda »

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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 »

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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 »

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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 »

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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.

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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 »

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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.

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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.

More clever uses for sugar »

Originally Published: January 22, 2016

Originally Published in Reader's Digest

What to add to water to make flowers last longer in a vase

Why do flowers fade quickly?

The main reason is the lack of familiar environment. Cut stems are deprived of nutrition, which was carried out by obtaining the necessary substances by the root system, as well as moisture from the soil. Just water in a vase is not enough for a full life.

You may have already noticed that some bouquets stay fresh much longer than others. It also depends on the type of plant, but to a greater extent - on the conscientiousness of the florist who made you a bouquet. It could be collected from stale, frozen flowers, or it just stood in the store for a long time.

Flowers fade quickly also because they are not cared for properly. To keep the flowers in the vase longer, you need to change the water frequently. In this case, you need to put the bouquet in the shade, avoiding sunlight.

How to properly prepare a bouquet before placing it in a vase?

Preliminary preparation is necessary in order for the flowers to stand in the water for a long time. First, take apart the bouquet. Cut off each stem about 1-2 cm in length.

Please note that the cutting angle can be any. But we advise sticking to 45-50°.

Now dip the cut sections in lukewarm water. Wait for bubbles to appear.

Choose a container with a neck suitable for the size of the bouquet. It should not pinch the stems. Flowers need "freedom".

The vase must be clean. Do not neglect this point. After cleaning, fill a vase with cool water and place the prepared plants.

How to make a bouquet last longer in a vase

The first and basic rule is to use high-quality water. What kind of water is needed for flowers? Rain or melt is preferred. If there is nowhere to take it, then the most ordinary filtered one will do, but it has settled for a couple of hours, and preferably all night. To soften the water, add a little citric acid.

Spare no water. Pour enough so that it reaches the middle of the stems.

What else is needed to make the flowers stand for a long time? We have already mentioned that before placing the bouquet in a vase, it is necessary to cut off the lower parts of the stems. It is recommended to do this regularly (1 time per day). Through a fresh cut, the plants will be better saturated with moisture. Also remove the leaves/needles from the bottom.

What to add to flowers to make them last longer

To make flowers last longer, special preservatives are added to the water. Most of the products that prolong the life of plants can be found at home:

Each product for flowers, in order for them to stand 100% long, requires the correct dosage. Follow the proportions described above and do not overdo it with the amount of ingredients.

Which flowers last longer in a vase

How to make flowers last longer? Choose their varieties that are least susceptible to room conditions. Champions in the ability to adapt to different temperature and environmental conditions are chrysanthemums. With proper care, they can decorate the house for 3-4 weeks.

Carnations are no less hardy. There are many shades of this plant. Pay attention to them if you want a delicate bouquet to please your eye for at least 3 weeks.

Freesias, hyacinths, orchids and asters can keep fresh for at least 14 days. Daisies, irises, peonies and tulips are more capricious. In the absence of care and inappropriate conditions, they wither after 1.5 weeks.

Popular roses cost the least. If you come across “stale” specimens, then they will begin to fade after a couple of days. Fresh flowers will delight for about a week.

How to make flowers last longer: take good care of cut plants

What can we do to make flowers last longer? You need to follow a few simple rules:

Life hack: If the buds have begun to wilt, then it's time to give them shock therapy. To do this, pour boiling water on the bottom of the stem (a few centimeters from the end). Cut off the blackened ends. This procedure will help open the pores in the stems, and they will begin to absorb water with a vengeance.

Common mistakes

What can be done to make the flowers stand in a vase for a long time? In fact, everything is simple. Avoid the following errors:

  1. Irregular water changes. Make it a rule to change the water daily.

Important: the water must not be topped up, but replaced completely.

It should not be icy, but cool enough. If you put the water to settle, then it is better to keep it in a cool place.

  1. No preservatives in the water. It is not recommended to mix several funds. So you will speed up the decay.

  2. Wrong cut. A sloppy, torn cut is not suitable for plants.

  3. Presence of leaves at the bottom of the stem. Otherwise, they will start to rot in the water.

  4. Bad place. Do not place the bouquet near heaters, gas stoves, window sills located on the sunny side.

We have given you valuable tips on how to make flowers last longer. Stick to them and they will help prolong the life of your bouquet.

what to add to water to make fresh cut flowers stand better

Do you want lush buds to please the eye for a long time? Our florists will share tricks on how to make flowers last longer in a vase.

Contents
1. Why add special formulations to water?
2. How to prepare a bouquet as a gift?

For example, some substances can be added to flower water. Let's talk about this in more detail.

When a plant is in the soil, it lives by getting nutrients, just as people do from food. But if we cut a flower and put it in a vase with water, then these substances important for the life of the plant become less, so it is necessary to feed it a little. It's not difficult, and most of the useful tools can be found in the medicine cabinet or in the kitchen. We list the main ones:

    Aspirin , and did you know that plants produce their own salicylic acid? For them, this substance, like human cortisol, is a stress hormone. Salicylic acid increases the plant's resistance to infections and other harmful factors, so to speak, strengthens the immune system. Thus, a couple of aspirin tablets added to a vase of clean water will only benefit the bouquet. In addition, the well-known medicine, dissolved in water, has good antiseptic properties. Acetylsalicylic acid increases the lifespan of cut roses, chrysanthemums and lilies by an average of for 4 days .

Alcohol , medical alcohol can also be used, but ordinary vodka in the ratio 25 ml per liter of water is better. The water-alcohol solution has excellent disinfecting properties, which helps fight harmful infections and parasites, positively affecting the health of the flower. Most of all, vodka is loved by hydrangeas, dahlias and asparagus greens, which are part of some floral compositions.

Many resources say that citric acid or sugar should be added to a vase with a bouquet in order to prolong the life of the plant. Yes, indeed, these substances nourish the flowers. But, for example, citric acid increases the acidity of water, so bacteria begin to multiply more actively in it. A similar picture develops in the event that the water is sweetened. If the stems of the plant are affected by the infection, then most likely it will quickly wither.

In addition to the listed, so to speak, folk remedies for caring for flowers in a vase, there are also specialized ones. As a rule, they are sold in florist shops in the form of powders. Of these products, the most popular is, for example, universal top dressing for cut flowers Krizal .

Proper preparation of the bouquet is the key to a long life of flowers. We recommend that you take this seriously and consider a few tips. So what needs to be done to keep flowers fresh?

    Remind the lovely lady you are giving the bouquet to that the flowers need to be trimmed before they are in the vase. It is recommended to cut from 4 to 12 centimeters depending on the height of the stem at an angle 45 degrees using fairly sharp scissors. And only after that the flowers can be put into the water.

    When the girl comes from the street to a warm apartment, let her leave the flowers on the veranda or in the pantry for a few minutes so that they gradually get used to the higher air temperature. Plants don't like heat. This means that in the cold season, flowers should not be left near the battery, and in summer the bouquet should not be on the windowsill under the scorching sun, otherwise it will quickly die.


    The water for the vase must be clean, boiled, it must be changed at least once a day . And in the summer in hot weather twice as often. In addition, it is recommended to periodically spray the bouquet with cold water.

    Advise your beloved to pay attention to what flowers and plants the bouquet will be adjacent to. For example, not all plants are compatible with certain types of fruit. Especially with citrus fruits, since our favorite oranges and tangerines contain esters that have a negative effect. Flowers and fruits are recommended to be kept at some distance.

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