No matter what you might have heard, fresh flowers have not gone out of style. Getting your loved one or special someone fresh flowers is still considered a wonderful gesture and will surely put a smile on the person’s face. Whether it’s a romantic gesture for your significant other or a sign of love for your parents or siblings, it’s bound to brighten up their day. If you’re on the receiving end of this thoughtful sign of affection, you’ll want to properly care for your fresh flowers in order to make their lives longer and better.
1. Don’t neglect the water
Just like you need food, your flowers need fresh water to survive and stay healthy. You should replenish the water frequently and change it entirely every two to three days. This is because flowers generally drink a lot of water. A large flower arrangement will usually suck up all the water in a vase in the first day or two.
Keeping the vase full ensures that the flowers won’t dry out or wilt. Bacteria can also build up in the water, causing flowers to die. By changing the water every few days, you’re keeping the flowers fresh for longer and avoiding the bacteria. As well as that, you’ll be avoiding that awful smell that flowers develop when you don’t pay attention to them for a long time.
2. Use flower food
Just changing the water every few days may be enough to prolong the life of your flowers, adding flower food packets that come with packaged flowers can also be very beneficial. If you’re forgetful or lazy and won’t be changing the water regularly, this is even more important. The food packets contain a bactericide that keeps the water fresh for a day or two longer.
You can even make your own flower food. Simply mix a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of bleach, and two teaspoons of lemon juice. Add the mixture to your vase before adding about a quart of warm tap water. Of course, in some cases, flower food will be unnecessary as the flowers won’t prefer it.
3. Don’t place them next to the fruit
One of the worst places to set your flowers down is next to ripening fruit and veggies, especially apples and bananas. Ripening fruit gives off an odourless and invisible gas which is called ethylene. It’s harmless to humans but deadly to plants. Flowers are precursors to fruit in the plant world. When a flower is pollinated, it develops into fruit so it can form new seeds to start the life cycle again.
Ethylene can be found in the plant and it induces the flower to drop its petals and become a fruit. As that fruit matures, it continues to produce ethylene in its environment. You’re directly exposing your fresh flowers to this gas when you put them next to ripening fruit. This means that they’ll drop their petals, but you won’t get any fruit out of it- just dead flowers.
4. Keep them away from light and heat
A sunny windowsill may seem like the picture-perfect place to put your flowers, but this just makes flowers wilt sooner. Unlike potted plants, flowers are already fully developed and won’t benefit much from direct sunlight. The heat and bright light will encourage them to mature, which just means they’ll make the process of rotting quicker.
A cool dark spot is much more appropriate for your flowers, as this makes them last as long as it’s possible. You can still play with the aesthetics of your home and the flowers, it just doesn’t have to do anything with direct sunlight.
5. Trim the stems
After your flower delivery, you shouldn’t put the flowers in the vase right away. Instead, trim at least half an inch of the stem. Each time you change the water, repeat the process. During the delivery, the stems often fry out and die which makes it difficult for flowers to absorb water. This is why they wilt pretty quickly.
When you cut the stems just before you place them in the water, you expose the fresh tissue to the nutrients in the water. This allows the flowers to suck up the water more efficiently. Every time you change the water, remove the tissue at the tips that might be breaking down and expose the fresh tissue to the water again. This way, you’re efficiently prolonging the life of your flowers and making sure they’re healthy.
6. Wash the vase or container
Once you throw out your flower arrangement, don’t forget to wash the vase or container where they were set. Every flower arrangement has an expiration date, but that doesn’t mean you’re through with the proper care. The vase or container should be washed thoroughly with hot soapy water. If you can, be free to throw the vase or container in the dishwasher.
Just like you need to change the water to prevent bacteria build-up while the flowers are still alive, you need to prevent the same build-up when you’ve thrown out the flowers. Just because the vase dries out doesn’t mean that the bacteria go away. As soon as you add new water, the vase will be full of bacteria which will potentially kill your new bouquet. There’s no reason to subject your new flowers to such horror. Simply was the vase and give your new flowers a clean environment to thrive in. As we all know, soap is an expert bacteria killer and will allow your new flowers to live much longer.
Conclusion
Taking care of your fresh flowers allows you to enjoy them for a longer period of time. You’ll love the reminder of care and love on your coffee table, and you’ll love the fragrance even more. Let’s not forget how aesthetically pleasing fresh flowers are and how much flare and colour they add to the room. Overall, if you take care of your floors, your home will beam with love and beauty for more than one day. Let the good vibes last!
