WAYS TO MAKE FLOWERS LAST LONGER
We all understand nothing lasts forever. The beauty of today becomes the ashes of tomorrow.
Those Valentine’s Day flowers, anniversary flowers, birthday flowers you received from a special flower delivery, or when you were in convalescence will soon fade and wilt into oblivion. Bright blossoms will adequately beautify a place for quite some time with the following recommendations:
Caring for your flower:
- Use a properly cleaned vase: Rinse your vase properly until you are quite sure that it is free from micro-organisms and organic deposits from water.
- Chop the stems: This slip-up is common with most people after they receive flowers. Use garden secateurs to trim around 2 to 5 cm off. Chop off the stems at an angle. This will enable them to have a better water intake since the stems are not just sitting evenly on the vase. Cut them early in the day preferably. Take out time to likewise keep the bouquet in shape by trimming every few days.
- Prune: Any leaves that are sitting below the water line ought to be removed in order to prevent bacteria growth. It will also aid your flower to opening up fully. Also, check your flowers daily for dead leaves.
- Water judiciously: Of course, flowers do not last long without water. Mix flower nourishment with water and put in a clean vase. Ensure you change the water from time to time, say every two to three days.
- Avoid direct daylight: Flowers last better at cooler temperatures. Heat generating machines should be kept far away from flowers. Keep flowers away from heating or cooling vents, fully open windows, and fans.
- Display your flowers away from fruits and vegetables: If your flowers are too close to it. On the reverse, keeping your roses apposed to fruits may stimulate them to bloom faster, especially if they were cut before prematurely.
Preservatives and Additives: Some household items over the years, have been shown to increase the longevity of flowers. A couple of them are listed below:
- Apple cider vinegar and sugar: Mix together 2 tablespoons of each sugar and apple cider vinegar into a litre of warm water and pour into a vase before you add your flowers. Make sure the stems are immersed 7 to 10 centimeters in the prepared water. The sugar nourishes the plant, while the vinegar inhibits bacteria growth. The arrangement can stay for a long time.
- Aspirin: A tested and trusted way to keep flowers longer is with the use of aspirin. Mix one crushed tablet of aspirin into your vase of fresh flowers. The aspirin will lower the pH level of the water, thereby increasing the acid content. This will prevent wilting.
- Bleaching: Recently cut flowers will last longer if you add a quarter teaspoon bleach per litre of vase water. Another popular method is to add a few drops of bleach and one teaspoon of sugar in a litre of water. This will prevent the water from getting milky, thereby inhibiting the growth of bacteria all over.
- Coins: Put a copper penny to your fresh bouquet. The copper helps to acidify the pH, which will inhibit the growth of bacteria. They also aid flowers in opening up much quicker. You can add sugar cube into the vase water.
- Flower food: Adding flower nourishing substances to the vase will keep the blooms fresh for a longer period. You can buy the flower food alongside the bouquet from your local florist.
- Vodka: Put a few drops of spirit that you have at your disposal, to the vase water along with a teaspoon of sugar. This will give a sterile action. Change the whole setting often. These spirits have the ability to inhibit ethylene production, a gas that accelerates the maturity of plants and also slow down the wilting of the flowers. It is one of the more effective ways of preserving your lovely flower hand bouquet.
- Keeping them in the fridge: Remember flowers grow well at chiller temperatures. Mimicking this effect by putting them in a fridge, say the night before bed, helps to slow aging. This is also one of the most effective ways of preserving your flowers.
- Soda: Pour about ¼ cup into the water in a vase full of flowers that have been cut. The sugar in the soda will make the blooms last longer and smell better too. Even at week 2, your flowers should be looking as fresh as the day you bought them.
- Spray: Just the same way it goes for your hair, a spritz of hairspray will keep your flowers in good shape. Distance yourself a foot away from the flower bouquet and give a quick spray on the petals and leaves. There is no much science backing for this though, so it may not be really effective.
You can now proceed to try out any of the following methods, or even combine some of them if you want your flowers to retain their magic for longer periods. Do not forget to first of all care for your flowers, before you now add the preservatives. Most of the procedures are easy to do, and the little stress you will pass through to extend the lives of your radiant blooms is definitely worth it.
