Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Keeping your flowers fresh & long lasting

 There are many useful tips and tricks in order to help keep your flowers fresh and lasting for as long as possible. To begin with, if you're harvesting flowers from your own garden you should begin in the early morning. This is so the stems can retain moisture. Keeping your flowers at a temperature between 40-50 degrees is ideal for most situations. After you have cut your flowers ensure to remove all leaves from the stem that would otherwise be emerged into water. Your stems need to be cut at an angle, and should also be done underwater so no air is able to seep into the stems veins. Changing your water everyday is most beneficial to the flowers in order to keep them at their freshest. Adding in bleach is another tip to help keep bacteria out and also keeps the water smelling fresh. Flowers that are exposed to direct sunlight or heat tend to wilt quicker.
However, if you're given a bouquet and need to take care of those flowers, the simple up keep is slightly different. The first thing you need to do is place them in the refrigerator for several hours. If you're unable to place them in your fridge, then skip that step and move directly to the preparatory steps which include removing the leaves and excess stems, along with cutting the flowers at an 45 degree angle. If you're cutting roses, this should be done underwater. After you prep them place them in a vase of cold water. Placing your flowers into warm water gives them the chance to dehydrate themselves and causes them to wilt up and die. The upkeep of your flowers should include cutting the stems every few days, and changing the water every day. Flower food which can be purchased at your florist helps keep your flowers alive, but you could also add sugar into your vase if you're unable to buy the flower food. The placement of your flowers can also have an affect on their lifespan. Keep your arrangement away from sunlight and fruit bowls. Fruit bowls produce ethylene gas which causes your flowers to wilt. Clearly, there are many tips and tricks to keep your floral arrangement lasting with the longest lifespan possible.

4 comments:

  1. Whitney its pretty cool how you know so much about flowers I didn't even know that much about them till i started reading your posts so keep it up your teaching me really cool stuff ;D

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  2. Every time i try to grow any plant it dies so i was wanting to know the easiest plant to grow maybe one with barley any maintenance. IH

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  3. Well Isaac, there are many flowers you can choose from to plant, that require pretty low maintenance. Depending on what season you're growing them in depends on which flower you should use. Petunias are good flowers to grow from spring to summer. They produce all sizes of buds, and are easily to maintain. When caring for your flowers, ensure to snip off the dead blooms so there is room for new blooms to grow. :)

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  4. This is so detailed, you really didn't skip on any details, but bouquets are really hard to take care of, they die so easily, and its so sad.

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