LoveYou to the moon and back

Tip #1:

Replenish the water frequently. Change the water entirely every 2-3 days.

Keep the vase full to ensure the flowers do not dry out and wilt. Flowers are also highly susceptible to bacteria that builds up as stems sit in the water. By changing the water in the vase every few days, even if the water hasn’t been used up, will help keep your flowers fresh longer (and avoid that horrid rotten smell that develops if you let them sit a long time). 

Tip #2:

Trim at least a half inch of stem off your flowers before you put them in a vase and each time you change the water.

By cutting the stems just before placing them in water again, you expose fresh tissue that can suck up the water much more efficiently.

Tip #3:

Keep your flowers away from heat and bright light.

Sun and heat will encourage them to “mature” and thus quicken their demise. Instead, keep your cut flowers in a cool dark spot if you would like them to last as long as possible.

Tip #4:

Avoid sitting your flowers beside ripening fruit or vegetables, especially bananas and apples.

As the fruit matures, it continues to give off ethylene. When you sit your vase of flowers next to ripening fruit, you’re exposing them to this gas and they will decide they’d better drop their petals the way Mother Nature intended.

Tip #5:

After you throw out your last arrangement, be sure to wash the vase/container very thoroughly in hot soapy water or, better yet, in your dishwasher.

Bacteria build up in dirty vases and do not go away just because the vase dries out. As soon as you add water again, the vase will once again be full of bacteria and your new bouquet will be subjected to the same bacteria that killed the last bouquet. Give your flowers a fresh clean environment free of bacteria and they will last much longer.

Tip #6:

Use “flower food” for most flowers.

While changing the water every other day or so is often just as effective for making flowers last longer, adding those flower food packets that come with packaged flowers are beneficial as well. You also 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. 

Tip #7:

Use sharp scissors when cutting.

If you use dull old scissors or snips to trim your flowers, you are often smashing, and thus damaging, the tissue/cells at the end of the stem. Damaged cells cannot absorb water as effectively as healthy cells.