Bringing a vibrant bouquet into your home is not just about the instant beauty—these flowers can maintain their freshness and continue to brighten your space with the right care. Utilizing simple, scientifically backed methods, you can extend the vitality and appearance of your cut flowers. Here’s how you can keep your floral arrangements looking fresher longer.
Selecting robust varieties
Multiple factors determine the quality of cut flowers, including temperature, humidity, ethylene levels, and microbial activity. However, selecting robust varieties ensures that your bouquet remains visually appealing longer and offers more value for your investment. Flowers like carnations and chrysanthemums have naturally longer lifespans due to their hardier structures and slower aging processes, allowing them to withstand typical environmental stress better than more delicate varieties. These flowers can have a vase life for up to three weeks:
- Chrysanthemum
- Carnation
- Alstroemeria
- Orchid
- Freesia
- Lily
- Ranunculus
- Zinnia
- Gladiolus
Removing lower leaves
Once you get home with your bouquet, the first step is to prepare them for vase life. Remove any leaves that would sit below the water line in your vase. Leaves in the water can rot quickly, leading to bacterial growth that can block the stems and reduce water uptake, causing the flowers to wilt prematurely.
Cutting stems
To maintain the fresh appearance of your flowers, start by cutting the stems properly to ensure optimum water uptake. Use a sharp, sterilized pair of scissors or a knife to make a clean cut at a 45-degree angle about one inch from the bottom of each stem. This angled cut increases the surface area for water absorption and prevents the ends from resting flat at the bottom of the vase, which can hamper water uptake.
Preventing air bubbles
Avoiding air bubbles that can block the water flow through the stem is crucial. After cutting, place…
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