10 useful life hacks to make flowers last longer in a vase

It's always nice to receive flowers as a gift.
And it’s always a shame if they quickly fade. After reading this article, you will learn how to keep flowers in a vase longer and ways to make flowers last a long time. If a flower has been standing in water for a long time, the stem will give it away. Flowers in a vase can last for four weeks. It's hard to believe, but it's true. Naturally, everything here depends on the ability to properly care for flowers. True, the plants themselves are no less important. For example, when they were cut, under what conditions they were delivered to the store and under what conditions they were stored.

Trimming the stems

This action must be performed as soon as you bring the bouquet home or receive this elegantly packaged fragrant and bright gift. We cut from 3-4 to 10-12 centimeters depending on the height of the stem, at the same time, if necessary, trimming the stems so that your bouquet looks like a home decoration, and not like a picturesque but careless “bun”.

This should be done with a well-sharpened knife or pruning shears, and not with tailor’s or ordinary scissors, which “fray” the ends of the stems more than straighten them. In addition, such tests are unsafe for the scissors themselves.

How to keep flowers in a vase: rules for roses

These flowers are sensitive to changes in care and environment. Here are five tips to better preserve cut roses at home.

1. "Desoldering". Roses need to be “watered” - placed for an hour and a half in a spacious container with cold water. It is advisable to place the flowers so that the stems are as much as possible under water, and the inflorescences are on top.
2. Slice You need to cut the stems at about 45°. And definitely - under water. And for better absorption of liquid, you can split the end of the stem crosswise.
3. Lure. Add a mixture of sugar and vinegar to water to make roses last longer. Aspirin is also received with a bang.
4. Night swimming. Roses are best preserved if they are removed from the flowerpot at night and placed in a bath (bucket) with cold water overnight. Be sure to trim the stems directly under water.
5. Daytime temperature. It is best to store roses at a temperature of 18-19°C. If the apartment is hot, throw a couple of pieces of ice into the vase and spray the flowers often throughout the day.

If the air in the room is too dry, periodically wrap the bouquet with a cool, wet cloth. And if you see rotting petals or leaves, remove them immediately, otherwise the rot will begin to quickly spread throughout the entire plant. If the roses in the vase are drooping, then there are two surefire ways to “reanimate” them.

Measures at the beginning of wilting

1. Pour boiling water into a container and immerse the stems in it for about an hour.
2. At this time, fill the bath with cold water.
3. Immediately after the “bath”, transfer the flowers to the bath and cut the stems to 5 cm - strictly under water.
4. Then remove two or three bottom leaves from each rose.
5. Leave the flowers to “float” for at least five hours, and preferably until the morning.
6. In the morning, place the bouquet in a vase washed with soda.
7. Add commercial cut flower powder or one of the sugar mixtures to the water.

If the flower has a “lowered head”

1. Pour hot water into a tall container - as much as your hand can tolerate.
2. Pour into it one packet of store-bought fertilizer or one tablespoon of sugar and one aspirin tablet.
3. Remove excess leaves.
4. Cut off 5 cm of the stem. Then make a long oblique cut to a height of another 10 cm. And immediately lower the rose into the hot solution.
5. Treat all flowers this way.
6. There is no need to remove the roses from the solution; it will gradually cool to room temperature. In a couple of hours the roses will raise their “heads”.

The effectiveness of “resuscitation” depends on how quickly the action was taken. The longer the flowers wither, the less chance of recovery. Even “intensive therapy” does not fully guarantee that the roses will fully “come to life.” How long they will last is also unclear.

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Let's sum it up

Flowers are like people - they do not like scorching heat and temperature changes, they are “friends” or “enemies” with their neighbors, they “enjoy” a cool shower. Provide them with the right “diet” and beware of bacteria that poison the water. Prepare the water before placing the bouquet in it. Perform simple “surgical” procedures. Follow these rules, and the bouquet will delight you not for a day or two, but for 4-6 days, depending on the endurance of individual plants. Even delicate spring flowers like irises will not fade in the morning, but will gain new strength. Understand the needs of flowers and they will respond to your care!

Choosing in the store

This information will be useful if you plan to give flowers as a gift, and it is important that they do not fall off or wither in a couple of days. Here are nine recommendations on how to choose a truly fresh bouquet.

1. Sepals. They must be green and tightly “hug” the bud. If they are dried out and “sad” (bent away from the bud), then sellers are trying to sell an old flower from which several rows of lower petals have simply been torn off.
2. Leaves and petals. They must be “vigorous” and have a bright, characteristic color. Bend the petal down: if it immediately returns to its original position, the flower is fresh. Drooping, darkened leaves/petals, spots, plaque indicate “advanced age” or diseases of the plant.
3. Stem. If a flower has been standing in water for a long time, the lower part of the stem will give it away - slippery, with dark spots and an unpleasant putrid odor. In general, the stem should be elastic, without obvious damage, foreign stains or plaque.
4. Slice Dark and faded - bad.
5. Insects. Examine the bouquet carefully. If you notice any bugs, white coating, dark dry spots, holes in the leaves, cobwebs - do not buy. These are pests. You can bring uninvited guests into your home and infect your indoor plants.
6. Aroma. It should be fresh, without any extraneous shades and match the type of flower. Old flowers smell weakly or not at all.
7. Pollen. Usually, pollen on the stamens is a sign of a “ripe” flower; it will not last long.
8. Water. The liquid in a flowerpot with a bouquet should be clean, transparent, free of foreign odors and impurities.
9. The atmosphere in the store. Take a sniff. Among the variety of aromas, you should not feel musty. The room should not be too hot. Humidity is also important—medium is better. Too dry air causes plants to wither, and dampness promotes rot.

These were general points. Here is information on specific types of flowers.

• Roses. Feel the bud at the base of the sepals - in a fresh flower it is dense and elastic. Lightly pull the lower tier of petals, if none of them have “fallen off” - good, the rose is fresh. To make roses last longer, buy unopened or slightly open buds.
• Tulips. Opened inflorescences will not last long. Therefore, only closed elastic buds and no dark, dry areas on the petals. The stem should be elastic.
• Chrysanthemums. The center is black - the flower is old. Tug on the lower petals - they will fall off on an old plant.
• Carnations. A stale carnation will be indicated by a drooping head and faded color. The carnation also has a very fragile trunk - inspect it carefully. Cunning sellers fasten broken stems with matches, toothpicks, needles - look for the joint.
• Lilies. One stem should have one or two flowers and several unopened buds. Look for branches with green buds - the yellow ones will not bloom. There should be no water inside the inflorescences or on the stamens. Wet stamens are a sign of an old flower.

Unscrupulous sellers often “mix” substandard flowers into bouquets of fresh flowers. Ask the florist to collect and arrange a composition from the flowers you have chosen - then you will be sure of the quality of the bouquet.

What needs to be done to make flowers last longer?

Preparing flowers and water

To make flowers last longer in a vase, you need to follow these tips:

1. Leaves should not be placed in water, so all the lower ones must be removed. This is due to the fact that there are a large number of bacteria on the leaves, which begin to multiply in the water and the water goes out. Roses are distinguished by the presence of thorns, which are also best removed.

2. It is recommended to remove the stamens so that the flower stays fresh longer. This is explained by the fact that in nature, after pollination, the inflorescence fades, since the plant no longer needs it. If you remove the stamens, fertilization will not occur and the flower will not wither longer.

3. The packaging should not be removed immediately. First you need to wait until the temperature inside the bouquet and the ambient temperature equalize. Flowers do not tolerate sudden changes in temperature.

4. While the bouquet is without water, air enters the pores of the stem, which prevents water from being absorbed. To save the situation, the stem should be cut by 2-3 cm, or even better by 5-7. This procedure is done under water so that air does not get into the pores again. Pruning should be done using pruning shears at an angle of 450. This should not be done with scissors, since after using them, air will not enter the stem.

5. The vase must be clean. To remove all bacteria from it, the vase can be washed with vinegar or soda. A clean vase will keep water fresher longer.

6. It is better to take settled or filtered water for pouring into a vase. It is better not to pour tap water, as it contains many impurities.

7. The place where the bouquet will stand also matters. It needs to be kept out of direct sunlight, but it will need plenty of diffused light. Drafts must be avoided.

8. The temperature in the room where the flowers are located should not be high. It is better for the bouquet to spend the night in a cool place, for example, on a glazed balcony. You cannot place the vase near heating appliances.

9. The bouquet should be periodically sprayed with cool water.

10. There should be no fruits near the bouquet, as they emit ethylene, which has a bad effect on plants.

According to reviews, a fairly effective method of preserving the freshness of a bouquet is to disinfect the stems. To do this, they need to be placed in a solution of slightly pink potassium permanganate for about 1 hour, and then placed in a vase with clean water.

REFERENCE! Potassium permanganate can be replaced with ammonia or boric acid in the amount of a few drops per liter of water.

You need to replace the water in the vase and cut the stems every day. Just like washing a vase. The bouquet should be sprayed several times a day, paying attention to the time of year and the humidity in the room. There is no need to spray orchids, as dark spots may appear on them. These beautiful flowers can only be sprayed on the stems. Rotten or dried petals, leaves, and inflorescences must be removed regularly.

What flowers are not afraid of cold, heat and drought?

The most difficult test for any bouquet, regardless of composition, is the period without water (when the bouquet is purchased and delivered to the recipient). Even the listed plants without water will begin to wither within 2-5 hours. If you have to keep the bouquet out of the vase for a long time, then it is better to choose orchids (cut flower stalks of phalaenopsis). They are more adapted to drought and heat than others. Bulbous plants are more tolerant of cold: tulips, daffodils, freesias, hyacinths. They try to add them to winter bouquets. These flowers will not freeze until they are brought to a warm room from the store, even without insulating packaging.

Top dressing

Today, ready-made fertilizer can be purchased at a specialized store. If you prefer traditional methods, then here are several options: 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar per liter of water, or 1-2 glucose tablets per liter of water. As an option, sweet soda is suitable in a proportion of 50 ml per 1 liter of water.

Aspirin tablets, a teaspoon of salt or alcohol will help prevent stem rotting.

Alcohol, vinegar and aspirin are excellent dual-action products: for disinfecting water and for feeding plants.

A tablespoon of citric acid or vinegar will soften hard water.

Remember, not all flowers love sweets; for example, cyclamens, daisies and lilies of the valley may even die. So, before feeding your plants, find out what kind of feeding they need.

To get rid of plaque on the inner walls, the vase needs to be washed with a soda solution.

Important: the “life” of a bouquet also depends on the conditions in which the flowers were grown, and what kind of fertilizers were used during their growth.

Right choice

There are many recommendations to extend the life of green pets. But they all apply only to fresh flowers. If the plant has already stood for several days in a flower shop, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to maintain its freshness for a long time. That is why it is necessary to choose the right bouquet. To do this, pay attention to four points.

1. Shade of petals and leaves. Fresh plants have not yet lost their nutrients. Therefore, the leaves and flowers have a juicy, bright color. The presence of dried edges or dark spots is a clear sign of incipient wilting.
2. All petals present. The flower begins to “die” from the outer leaves. To restore its beautiful appearance, sellers remove such petals and leaves. This is difficult to determine visually. But if the flower seems “naked”, then rest assured that it is not your imagination; this plant has undergone correction.
3. Elasticity, moisture. The fresh plant has high elasticity. If you carefully bend the petal, it will quickly return to its place. In this case, there should be no trace of the bend.
4. Cut shade. A light green cut signals the freshness of the plant. A darkened and slippery cut indicates a long period of standing in a vase.

If you are cutting flowers in your garden, it is best to choose early morning for this procedure. Carefully cut off a few plants using a sharp knife. Then place in warm water for eight hours or overnight.

Tips for chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums are the hardiest flowers and usually last a long time. But you can extend their life even more. Here are three tips.

1. Slice After trimming, split the end crosswise and bend each quarter to the side.
2. Water. Chrysanthemums last the longest in a vase with sweetened water - glucose helps maintain the fresh appearance and vigor of the flowers.
3. Vase. Better tall and with a wide neck.

Do not forget that the lower leaves must be removed, the water temperature should not exceed 20°C, and the bouquet should not be exposed to direct rays of the sun or drafts.

Fading chrysanthemums can also be “revitalized.” Remove excess leaves. Cut off 4-5 cm of the stem and quickly place it in boiling water. After five seconds, also quickly move the flower into a vase with cold water. Spray the petals generously and place the vase in a cool place. After a couple of hours, the chrysanthemum will regain its vigor.

Composition of asters + dahlias

If not cared for properly, both asters and dahlias wither rather quickly. Therefore, be careful and follow three simple rules.

1. Slice Needs to be updated daily.
2. Water. Exceptionally cold, you can throw a few ice cubes into the vase. At night, take the pot out onto the balcony or put it in the refrigerator.
3. Lure. These flowers “love” alcohol and sugar. The recipe with vodka is perfect for them. You can also add aspirin to the water.

A standard trick with boiling water will help “cheer up” fading asters and dahlias. But the effect will not last long - about a day. If you add a packet of store-bought nutritional composition to boiling water, your lifespan will increase, but not globally.

Of course, the tips and tricks listed above will not make the bouquet “eternal”, but keeping the flowers in the vase longer will definitely help. The main rule is regular care, because even one missed water change can destroy the plants. If bacteria begin to multiply on the stems, the bouquet can die literally overnight.

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