Flowers are the epitome of ebullience. They bring out emotions of love and happiness. How do you feel when someone gifts you a large bouquet of fragrant flowers? Don’t you want to keep them forever and relish the fragrance… forever…? Well, if you want to make your flowers last and look fresh for an entire week or weekend or just a few days, you can do it using household products. That would certainly be better than getting rid of them the day after you buy them. Here are a few ways by which you can keep your vase full of flowers looking fresh for longer:
Make a solution of apple cider vinegar: Mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and with an equal quantity of sugar and vase water. Next, add the flowers. Change the water every couple of days to keep your flowers alive longer.
Add soda: Pour 1/4 cup of soda in a vase full of water and swirl the solution. Now, add the flowers and watch them bloom longer.
Spritz hair spray: Spritz hair spray on your cut flowers and the leaves and watch it bloom longer.
Crush aspirin: Dissolving crushed aspirin with the back of a spoon in a vase full of water and plants truly works to keep them alive and well for longer. To use aspirin, add the powder to water and pour in the solution into a vase full of water and flowers. Also, change the water each day. The salicylic acid content of the tablet cleanses the water and gets rid of any bacteria.
Add bleach to water: Here’s another trick to keep your freshly bought or cut flowers blooming longer. Add 1/4 teaspoon bleach per litre of water in the vase. This will keep the weater clear and prevent bacterial infection.
Mix vodka and water: By mixing vodka and water, you can reduce the growth and spread of bacteria in the water. It will also help provide food to the flowers that they would have received if uncut. For best results, add a few drops of vodka to your vase and a teaspoon of sugar. Change the water each day, and add in vodka and water with every change.
Make a sugar solution: You can use sugar to help your flowers remain alive and fresh longer. Do this by dissolving three tablespoons sugar with two tablespoons white vinegar per litre of warm water. Ensure that the level of the water is about three to four inches above the length of the stems so that they get enough of the solution. While the sugar feeds the plants, the vinegar prevents the spread of bacteria and you get a longer-lasting bouquet.
Cool them in the fridge: Place your bouquet in the fridge the night before you’re going to display them as they do well in cool temperatures. Often, they look day even 10 days later.
Drop in a coin in the vase: If you add a copper penny into the base of the vase along with a cube of sugar, your cut flowers could last longer. This is because the copper content in the penny behaves like an acidic agent that inhibits the proliferation of bacteria.
Tips:
- Use the right kind of vase: The right vase will always have a mouth wide enough to accommodate the stems you want to place in it. So, not too wide and not too narrow, and you’re fine.
- Make an angular cut on stems: Change the water daily and make an angular cut on the stems with a sharp knife. For woody stems, cut vertically on the stem so that more water enters the head of the flower.
- Water them just right: If you overwater them, they will develop soft stems and deteriorate faster, so be careful with the amount of water you pour in.
- Replace with fresh water every day: Give your flowers fresh and clean water every day. Use hot water to kill any bacteria in the vase.
- Get rid of excess leaves: Ensure that the leaves stay out of the water or they make the water murky. If there are stems with leaves below the mouth of the vase, get rid of them.
- Keep your flowers apart from your fruit: This is because flowers and fruit don’t d well together. Fruits emit ethylene gas, making flowers wilt.
- Keep them away from harsh sunlight: If you set up a flower vase with exciting blooms on a sunlit windowsill, they may bloom fast but wilt just as quickly. For best results, keep them away from harsh sunlight and from sources of heat like radiators and ovens.
- Remove flowers as they wilt: The moment your flowers begin to wilt, get rid of them or you’ll lose the whole lot soon. They will become mouldy and infect the other flowers.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to keep your flowers blooming for longer, you can go ahead and preserve the most beautiful cut flowers at home and decorate them in your vases.
