So you have a fresh flower bouquet, now what?! Read on to learn the best way to make the most of those gorgeous blooms!
If you received an arrangement in a vase or pot then you can skip this part and move onto the next. If you received a cut and wrapped bouquet then the first thing you’re gonna want to do is unwrap it and find your favourite container to put them in. Fill it up with room temperature water and cut the stems at an angle, this way the entire stems surface area is always in contact with the water. Arrange the stems in the vase to your satisfaction, but make sure no leaves are in the water.
You want to make sure you watch the water and replenish often, flowers can drink a lot! After 2-3 days you’ll want to change the water entirely and recut the stems. The reason you want to change the water is keep nasty bacteria away which will help your flowers live longer! You recut the stems to encourage it to absorb more water, a hydrated flower is a happy one! Always use sharp snips when cutting. If you use dull old scissors or snips to trim your flowers, you smash and damage the tissue/cells at the end of the stem. Damaged cells don’t absorb water as effectively as healthy cells. Sharp snips ensure a clean cut that leaves cells unharmed.
Keep your flowers away from heat and bright light. Many think a bright sunny spot is best, I mean it works for houseplants. However, cut flowers are actually the opposite of potted plants. They are at their peak of perfection. Sun and heat will encourage them to “mature” and die quicker. Instead, keep them in a cool dark spot.
Avoid sitting your flowers beside ripening fruit or vegetables, especially bananas and apples. The reason is they omit a gas called ethylene, in the flower world this gas causes them to drop petals and start to form seeds or fruit.
To add flower food or to not to, that is the question. I’m referring to those little packets of powder that you would add to the water; they include a mixture of sugar, citric acid and bleach. If you follow the above advice you won’t need them! In fact flower food can actually cause your flowers to mature and bloom quicker, that sugar does the same to them as it does to us. However if you’re not keen to replenish, change the water and recut the stems then adding flower food to your water is a good idea to help keep that bad bacteria away. If you’d like you can make your own flower food by adding about 1 teaspoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a 1 teaspoon of bleach to your vase before adding about a quart of warm tap water. Keep in mind there are a some flowers that do not like flower food: gladiolus, sunflowers and zinnias to name a few.
After the bouquet is finished be sure to thoroughly wash the container it was in to clean away that nasty bacteria, otherwise the next time you fill it and go to use it that same bacteria will affect your new flowers. Give your flowers a fresh clean environment and they will last much longer!
Well that’s it, Our best advice for keeping those flowers fresh! Now enjoy those beautiful blooms and keep smiling!