Flowers are one such gift that can bring instant smiles to the faces of recipients. If you have received this wonderful gift from a lovable person, you must be wondering how to keep this gift preserved for long. There are certain guidelines that you need to follow to keep flowers fresh for a long time.
Though it is true that flower bouquets do not last forever you can certainly prolong their lives with the help of these tips. So, whether you have thank you flowers online, received flowers as an online gift, or by any other sourceyou can extend their lives and can keep the bloom if you follow these tips:
Tips to Care Flower to Keep them Lasting
Lets get started
Trim the Stems of Flowers You Receive
One of the most common blunders that people often do when they receive flowers is they do not cut their stems. It is good not to make this mistake if you want to keep the flowers fresh. If you do so, flowers would be able to intake better water. Once you have trimmed it, you should re-trim the flower stem every few days.
Keep the Sticks Well-hydrated
You should replenish the water frequently. It is good to change the water of the vase every 2-3 days. But, when you hydrate the flowers you need to keep the vase full to make sure that the flowers do not dry out or get wilted. But, in the process, you have to keep in mind that flowers are highly susceptible to the build-up of bacteria or microbes build-up. So, you need to change the water in the vase. This will surely help your flowers stay fresh for a long time.
If the floral arrangement that you have is large and you want to keep the flowers fresh for a long time then you need to change the water often and keep on sprinkling water over the flowers.
Heat and Bright Light Should be Avoided
Most of people are under the impression that keeping a flower vase on a window sill where it can get exposed to sunlight is the best idea to keep it fresh. However, this is just a misconception. Flowers need sunlight when they are not plucked from the trees. But when they are cut, keeping them in bright light should be strictly avoided. If you want to enhance the life of cut flowers you should always keep it in a cool and dark spot.
Do Not Keep Flowers Near the Ripening Fruits
It has been scientifically proven that ripening fruits emit invisible gas known as ethylene. The gas is deadly to the flowers. Exposing flowers to ethylene would make them wilt and drop their petals.
Keep the Vase or the Container Thoroughly Clean
The vase or container in which you keep the flowers should be thoroughly clean. If you keep flowers in a fresh and clean environment free from harmful microbes, they tend to flourish and stay fresh for a long time.
Use Floral Preservatives
Get a floral preservative to add to the water of the vase in which you keep flowers. This is very effective to keep your flowers fresh. With the help of floral preservatives, you can prolong the life of your blooms to a great extent. Biocide in these preservatives can kill bacteria and harmful microbes. Flower foods are also available in the market or you can prepare the same at home by adding one teaspoon of sugar, a few drops of lemon juice, and one teaspoon of bleach.
There are certain flowers like sunflowers, zinnias, and glads that do not need flower food. So, do not make the blunder of giving them flower food.
Make Use of Sharp Scissors for Cutting
Do not ever try to use old or dull scissors for trimming your flowers. If you do so, you would end up smashing and damaging their cells and tissues. Damaged cells cannot absorb water as effectively as healthy cells and tissues. It is due to this reason you should use only new and sharp scissors to cut the stems. Apart from that, you should also cut the stem at an angle if you want a better water intake for your flower sticks.
After cutting it initially, you should re-trim the bouquet in a couple of days.
Choose the Longer Lasting Flower Variety
It is important to understand that all the flower varieties are not the same. There are certain flowers that have a longer blooming time when they are in your backyard. But, there are certain other flowers like orchids, zinnias, sunflowers, gladiolus, and dahlias.
You can choose to explore the market before choosing the right bloom.
Remove the Foliage From Cuttings
Stripping the leaves of your cuttings can make a big difference. Tucking away a few leaves that are submerged underwater can help you keep your flower cuttings fresh for a long time.
Proper Flower Conditioning is Necessary
Proper and thorough conditioning would ensure that the stems are filled up with water and not with air. This prolongs both the life and appearance of your blooms. There are certain things that you should take care of like sprinkling soda water on them from time to time and using only the freshwater for hydrating the plant.
Bottom Line
There are certain things that everybody knows and does to keep the flowers fresh. Some people keep them in refrigerators but this is not a permanent solution.
There are certain flowers like snapdragon and gladioli which are geotropic and hence they need special care. To keep these varieties of flowers fresh for a long time, you need to keep them at a place where they can bend upwards on their stems.
If you can take care of certain things like keeping the flower arrangement well-hydrated with warm water, can prevent its infection, and can keep them away from the Sunlight, they would remain fresh for a long time. So, whether you receive thank you flowers online or birthday flowers or flowers on any other occasion, you can keep them fresh for a long time.
About The Author
Amanda Harris is content manager at Toronto Flora, an online flower delivery shop in Toronto. She loves to share her ideas on social media on lifestyle, health, business and more.
Image by design. meliora from Pixabay .
