How to Care for Your Fresh Flowers
Flowers are beautiful way to freshen up your home and bring some of natures beauty inside. However, like all good things, fresh cut flowers don’t last forever (no matter how much we wish they did!). Although we can’t have our bouquets forever, there are small things you can do to try to increase their vase life.
When you first get your flowers home (if not already in a vase) it is important to cut the stems. You want to take off at least 1-2 inches and make sure you cut the stems at a 45 degree angle. *Cutting at an angle helps to ensure a greater supply of water to the flower.
Next it is recommended to remove any guard petals from the stem (any leaves/buds/petals that are below the vase line that would be potentially submerged in the water). Leaves that are in the water can create a bacteria that will spread to the flowers and cause them to die faster. *Remove any wilted leaves that fall into the water – they will also spread bacteria.
Flowers should always be placed in a clean vase with room-temperature clean water. Change the water every 2-3 days to ensure the water is clean and fresh. Each time you change the water you can also re-cut the stems – *at an angle – to increase the flowers water intake and keep them from drying out.
Fresh flowers do best in cooler areas, so avoid placing them directly in a window or on a table that gets a lot of sunlight. You should also keep them away from any heat sources (vents/oven/stove/etc). It is important to keep your flowers in an area with a consistent temperature flow – similar to the fact that they don’t like heat/sun, you also shouldn’t have them next to a fan or an open window (picky little things).
Here’s a tip most of us would never think of (including me!): fresh fruits release a tiny bit of ethylene gas – ethylene gas will shorten your flowers life span! (Say what?!?!) So, although your fruit bowl looks cute on your dining room table or kitchen counter – and it’s super tempting to also put your flowers there for that optimal home decor photo opportunity – it’s best to have them look cute separately.
Flower Cocktails
Here are some interesting at home flower cocktails you can mix up to keep those flowers looking and feeling fresh:
1.) Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in the water before you add your flowers. (Cut amount in half if you are using a small vase) *The vinegar will act as an antibacterial agent and the sugar acts as extra food for the flowers
2.) Aspirin is not only good for your aches and pains, it is also a great way to help lower the pH level of the water which in turn allows the flowers to feed better and helps prevent wilting for a longer period of time. (Mind blown!) Crush up an aspirin and add it to the fresh water before adding your flowers.
3.) Break out your best PENNY CAN. (If yall havent seen Cougar Town, you may not get the reference –which means you now have a new show to watch! You’re welcome :)) *You can add a copper coin to the water and it will act as an acidifier and wipe out any bacteria in the water.
4.) Raise your glasses!! Even your flowers need a little drink every now and then. Adding a few drops of alcohol (such as vodka) to the water in your vase helps to inhibit the production of ethylene. POP QUIZ! Who remembers us talking about ethylene??? Ethylene gas (which your bowl of fruits produce) is a gas that also helps your flowers mature, so eliminating that gas with the copper coin will slow down the wilting process and give your flowers a chance at longer vase life.
5.) Speaking of vodka, you can now also share your soda water! Add some to your drink, then add a cup of soda to the water in your flowers vase! (Just keep your lime or lemon for yourself!) *The soda will also help to prolong the flowers life and keep them blossoming for a longer time.
*Only meant for you to do one of these “remedies” in each vase of clean water at a time… so lets not go getting our flowers drunk and hyped up on sugar so they need to take an aspirin and dig through their purse for enough change to buy a soda ;)
Please remember none of these tips or tricks are a guarantee, they are just recommendations. Fresh cut flowers are bound to wilt and die but we can do what we can to try and keep them longer! As you lose blooms, remove the wilted ones and keep downsizing your vase with the flowers that are still fresh – don’t give up on all of them immediately! Some flowers only last a few days in vases, while others can last weeks. We just need to enjoy their beauty and appreciate them while they are blooming!