You have received a beautiful bouquet of flowers or you have chosen gorgeous stems from the florist. Now how do get the most from your blooms.
- Clean your vase thoroughly. Any lingering bacteria will make your flowers wilt faster
- Fill the vase two-thirds with fresh, lukewarm water and add your flower food. Top up the water the day after receiving your flowers, rather than changing it completely – this way, they benefit from the food for longer
- Remove any foliage that will sit below the waterline to avoid build-up of debris. If your flowers include roses, you may notice some discoloured outer petals. These are guard petals, which protect the inner petals. Gently remove 2-3 guard petals to reveal these
- Trim about 2-3cm from the bottom of the stems at a 45-degree angle. We recommend varying the stem length to give your arrangement a height range
- Change the water regularly after the second day. Just like us, flowers love clean water
- Keep your flowers out of direct sunlight to prolong their life
- Remove any wilted flowers. Besides not looking as attractive, they can spread mould onto the others
Cut flowers are still living things. They will still require nutrients in order to maintain their colour and overall appearance. Even after they are separated from their root systems, cut flowers can get much of what they need through a vase solution. Here are some suggestions on how to prepare your vase solutions that will help maintain your flowers through improving water flow, supplying nutrients to nurture buds, and inhibiting the growth of unwanted micro-organisms.
Lemon-lime soda is a good additive. Using one part soda with three parts water will render a solution that balances sugars and acids to keep the flowers healthy for longer. Don’t use diet sodas, as they don’t have the sugar you want in the solution. Also avoid colas, as these sodas tend to have too much acid. If you want to keep the solution clear, add a very light bleach component. The bleach should only be about 1.25ml per litre.
If you want a more “from-scratch” solution for your flowers, add the following to a litre of warm water: 30ml lemon juice, 15 ml sugar, and 1.25ml bleach. With this solution, you will want to add another 1ml of bleach every 4 days.
If mixing your own solution isn’t quite your thing, you can always opt for a commercially available flower preservative.
You should take note to avoid using aspirin or vinegar in your vase solutions, as they are not generally effective for increasing the vase-life of flowers.
Treat them well
Flowers will fare better in cool rooms. Higher temperatures will lead to higher rates of degeneration in cut flowers. Avoid putting arrangements where they will be subject to higher ambient heat, such as: in a sunny spot, near heaters, or on heat generating appliances. Properly displaying your arrangement will let the preparation help your cut flowers to last much longer than simply putting them in some water.