How to Maintain Your Fresh Cut Flowers

Everyone loves keeping fresh flowers in their homes. They brighten up the place and are great to look at. The additional bonus is provided by the fragrance released from them, making your house not only nicer to look at, but to smell too. Fresh flowers can be purchased from many different locations, from florists specializing in fresh flowers, department stores and even petrol stations! On the other hand, if you are a gardener, you may even have the opportunity of getting fresh cut flowers straight from your garden. No matter how you get a hold of these fresh cut flowers, you want to ensure that they stay healthy and alive for as long as possible. This requires a little attention, time and care from your side.

This article aims to provide you with hints and tips which are guaranteed to prolong the life of your fresh cut flowers.

In order to get the most from your flowers, you need to ensure that you start off with the freshest flowers possible. If you are planning on purchasing flowers, make sure you buy them straight form a florist or market and try to stay away from the petrol station, since those are least likely to be fresh. The additional exposure to petrol fumes will further jeopardise the health of your flowers.

If you are cutting the flowers yourself from your garden, ensure that you have a pre prepares vase at the ready so that you can instantly transfer them.

Having the right storage container is essential in prolonging the life of your flowers. The appropriate container for flowers is a vase. Do not use a plastic box or a jar. A vase is best. The vase should be all enough to cover the first three to four inches of the stems. A few additional inches are advisable, since they will provide your flowers with more support. Before placing your flowers into the vase, ensure that it is thoroughly cleaned. Any bacteria left in your vase will instantly attack your flowers, decreasing their lifespan.

When preparing your vase, ensure to fill it with warm water. You should not overfill the vase – add enough water to cover four to five inches of them stem. To this, you can add plant food which can be bought or is sometimes provided by florists in addition to your flowers. This will increase the life of your flowers. A cheaper alternative is to use Aspirin. Many of us have Aspirin lying around the house, which makes it more convenient than purchasing plant food.

Next, it is time to prepare your flowers. Fill your sink or a large container such as a washing up bowl with cold water. Hold the stems under the water and then you are ready to trim the stems. Ensure that you use sharp scissors so that you get neat, clean edges. It also means that you avoid crushing your edges, which will affect the water and nutrient uptake and will also make your flowers more susceptible to diseases.

When cutting your flower stems, ensure that you cut them at an angle. This is done to increase the surface area over which your flower stems are exposed to water, allowing them to take up more water.

Overlapping leaves need to be removed. Additionally, any leaves submerged in the water need to be removed since these are the ones that harbor most of the bacteria that cause plant diseases.

Finally, the water should be changed on a daily basis. If you are using plant food or Aspirin, this should also be added to the fresh water on a daily basis.