Prolonging The Life Of Cutflowers

One tip that I was told was to always cut the flowers at a diagonal angle instead of straight across the stem. This means that they're able to draw in more water so therefore they'll look better and last for longer. Whenever I've done this it seemed to work!

I hadn't heard about putting an aspirin in the water to prolong their life. Is it just the one aspirin for the life of the flowers? That seems pretty good!

 

I saw this on readers digest and though I haven't tried I believe it prolong the life of your flowers.

Bacteria is "cut flowers" worst enemy and the trick is to minimize bacteria growth. To achieve that once you have placed your flowers in the vase, add a few drops of vodka to the water.

Since the flowers will also need nourishment add a teaspoon of sugar. Change the water + vodka every day and your flowers will last longer.

p.s A little hair spray will make them look even fresher.

 

I don't have any tips for prolonging the life of cut flowers but I have tried the cutting diagonal method didn't really notice any difference though because I just enjoyed the flowers and removed the ones as they died off and changing to smaller vases as needed.

@Denis Hard. I do understand the bacteria that develops in the water after a while it begins to smell but I wonder if the vodka would take away the flower's fragrance and if the sugar would turn to syrup.

 

As for me, I don't prolong the life of cut flowers. I immortalize them through drying. The easiest way is to have a bucket of dry sand and spread the flowers carefully inside by digging a small well and spreading. It dries in less than a week retaining most of its colour. I also place them inside the pages of a newspaper and them spread them. Them I pile books on the flowers inside the paper. Drying and pressing flowers is a very rewarding hobby and saves on having to replace your bouquet and can bring in an extra coin especially during reasons when flowers are scarce.

 

I have always heard an asprin in the water can prolong the life of cut flowers and can revitalize them if they are wilting. I think I tried that experiment when I was young, though, and it didn't seem to work. So, I am not sure how great it is, or if it really works.

 

I suppose the flowers will most certainly lose their fragrance but just a drop or two in the water won't make the flowers have the stench of alcohol, at least not on the first day.

Or you could use something different — a drop of bleach in the water can also kill bacteria.

 

I have heard another way to keep the flowers fresh is to add a cap of bleach to the water to kill the bacteria. I have not tried that method yet, I did read a article that said the flowers lasted longer but the stems lost their color and the flowers were not as bright.

 

I did not know about this thanks for the tip. I actually get flowers somewhat regularly and I will try this the next time I get a new batch. I've never thought to look up tips for this now that I think about it, so really thanks for sharing because I always did subconsciously feel bad that the flowers didn't last longer in a vase. I vaguely remember hearing about a spray you can use to prolong it too but I've forgotten about it by now so I might be mistaken.

 

I've heard about using the aspirin, although I haven't tried it. I have tried adding a bit of sugar, and it seemed to help a little. I know that many florists sell small packets of something that's designed to extend the life of the cut flowers, but I'm not sure what the packets contain. I have also heard of using the bleach, but I try to minimize my contact with bleach, since I have Asthma.

I had never heard of drying flowers through using sand. I actually have some sand here that I got a the beach down the street, so I might try doing this when my plants start flowering again. I would love to dry some of the gardenia and jasmine blossoms.