Caring For Cut Flowers

Flowers are beautiful, they add beauty and provide a wonderful smell throughout the home. However, if you do not take the proper care of them then you may find that they do not last long and the beauty and smell will leave your home as quickly as it came in. Here are some basic tips for caring for cut flowers inside your home to make them last just a but longer.

Proper Care of Cut Flowers

Always make sure to use a sharp blade when cutting flowers. You can use sheers, a sharp knife or clippers but you should never use a pair of household scissors since these would not be sharp enough to get the straight, clean cut that you want in the stem.

Cut a thumbs width (2 cm) up from the bottom of the stem in an angle. You want to give the stem a diagonal cut to promote healthy water intake while in a vase inside the home. Not only that, but when placed in the vase, they will sit on the cornered part of the stem, allowing the water to still move through the cut side of it without pressing the entire bottom to the bottom of the vase. This blocks water intake.

Once they are cut, make sure to add them to warm water almost immediately. The trick is to nourish them as soon as possible. Water that is 37 to 42 degrees Celsius is ideal, except if you are watering bulb flowers such as tulips. These require cold water to stay alive. Add a preservative to the water. This can be any type of flower food – follow the directions, of course or an aspirin in the water can also help. Some will say that a few drops of vodka are perfect.

Additional Tips

• Do not overcrowd the flowers that are being arranged in the vase.
• You want to give them enough room to flourish and grow.
• Replenish the water in the vase often to ensure that the water level remains at least halfway full.
• If there are any wilted blooms inside the vase, properly dispose of them.
• Any flowers that are looking rough should be re-cut to provide more open paths for water and nutrients.
• Keep flowers away from any open drafts or direct sunlight.

With the proper care, nourishment and love, your flowers are able to strive when they are put inside the home once cut from the garden.