How to Maintain a Bouquet of Flowers

If you are looking to find a way to keep those bouquet of flowers that you recently got fresh and vibrant just for a few more days, look no further! Here are some tips to help maintain your bouquet of flowers.

Cut the Stem

You can keep the flowers fresh by cutting the stem as soon as you get home. Flowers have a vascular system in their stems which draws up water and nutrients to feed the blooms. If you don't cut the stems, the air that has been drawn into the stems while they were out of the water can block the water absorption. So use sharp scissors or pruning shears and cut at least a half inch off the bottom of the stem.

Place Them in Water Immediately

To speed up this process, you can cut the stems under the water to prevent any air bubbles from forming right in the stems. It's okay to put the flowers in a vase of water right after the cut.

Watch the Water Temperature

Placing the stems in hot water will cook them. Usually, room temperature water is ideal, except for one exception. Blooms from bulbs that flower during the cooler months (i.e. anemones, daffodils and tulips) will do better if the water is below room temperature.

Remove Below Water Foliage

Any remnants of plant leaves and flowers floating around in the vase water will rot quickly and spread bacteria which will kill your flowers before their time. So be sure to remove any foliage as quickly as possible to prevent this.

Change the Water

Bacteria is the enemy and will just induce the death of your flowers. So make sure to wash out the vase and refill it every three days. Make sure to at least trim another half-inch off of the stems when you do to keep the water absorption fresh.

Make Your Own Flower Food

Those little packets that come with most flower arrangements are there to help keep the flowers fresh because they contain:

• Sugar: to provide some nourishment.
• Citric acid: to keep the pH level low and acidic, which helps the water move up the stems faster and reduce wilting.
• Antibacterial powder

If your flowers did not come with this packet, or you ran out, you can actually make your own each time you change the water or before you give the stems a cut. Here is a way to make some:

• Mix together a few drops of bleach or a clear spirit (vodka or gin) which will help fight bacterial growth
• Add a few drops of clear soda or fine sugar to nourish the flowers
• Crush a vitamin C tablet and mix it to lower the pH level

With the above instructions, you have now created your own homemade flower food!

These are just several of the ways to help maintain a bouquet of flowers and to ensure that they last a little bit longer for you to enjoy.

All credit goes to In Full Bloom