Spring comes with the aroma of bird cherry, and a little later gives a lilac aroma. A bouquet of lilacs, given for some celebration or just as a sign of attention, you want to preserve its delicate subtle scent as long as possible in order to prolong the pleasant moments. It is quite possible to increase the life of lilacs in a vase if you know simple rules.
When and how best to cut a bouquet
Of course, lilacs can be cut when you want, if the situation requires it, but the bouquet will last longer if cut correctly.
Important! The best time to form a bouquet is early in the morning, when the plant has not had time to waste the moisture accumulated overnight before the heat. Ideally, the bush was watered the day before.
To cut, you need to use a sharp knife, but in no case, not scissors - the blades crush the tissue of the branch, thereby disrupting the conductivity of moisture. The same picture is observed when a branch breaks off.
The cut should be made at an acute angle and as long as possible, increasing the absorbent surface area. In order for the bouquet to remain decorative for a long time, you should select branches on which the inflorescences have blossomed by 1/3 or 2/3, and tear off the leaves, which are the main consumers of moisture.
It happens that immediately after harvesting it is not possible to put the bouquet in water, so the branches (cuts) can be wrapped in a wet cloth for a while.
Mandatory daily procedures
- In the evening, send flowers to the bath. Submerge them under water and secure them so that they do not rise to the surface. Leave the bouquet in this state until the morning.
- In the morning, trim the trunk by a centimeter and fluff it up a little.
- Once a day, change the water with the nutrient solution and wash the lower part of the stems.
- The longer the bouquet stands, the more frequent spraying it needs.
Now you know how to store cut lilacs in a vase. Caring for it is quite simple, and if you take the advice of experienced florists and gardeners, you can extend its stay in your home.
Stages of preparation for making a bouquet
Proper preparation of branches and water extends the life of a lilac bouquet. These simple procedures significantly increase the time it takes to decorate.
Processing slices
The intensity of moisture absorption increases if you split the branches with a sharp knife, making cuts 5-7 cm long, or lightly “break” the lower part with a hammer. On thick lignified branches with dense bark, you can make longitudinal cuts 3-4 cm long, or clear the lower part of the bark (10-15 cm).
It is recommended to perform the procedures immediately before placing the bouquet in the vase. Pre-prepared sections quickly become weathered, which makes it difficult to absorb water and supply oxygen.
The “correct” water for lilacs
The life of a lilac bouquet is significantly extended if it stands in water that has settled, warmed to room temperature and slightly acidified. To acidify it, you can add vinegar (2-3 drops), citric acid (several crystals) or an aspirin tablet (acetylsalicylic acid). A solution of sugar (1 tbsp) in water (1 l) is also life-giving. It is worth changing the water every 2 days, in a large bouquet - every day.
Another way to acidify: stir 2 tbsp in water. l. sugar, 1 tsp. citric acid and 150 g of salicylic or boric acid.
How to prepare water
Lilacs will last longer and will delight you with a unique aroma if you meet one more necessary condition: prepare the water according to the rules. Ideally, it is advisable to take melt water from a spring or well. However, in urban environments this is quite difficult to do. Therefore, filtered tap water in a city apartment is quite suitable. It should be noted that if the water for the bouquet is not properly prepared, the bouquet will quickly wither.
First, you need to let the water sit in a warm room. Ideally, the temperature of the prepared water should be almost equal to the room temperature.
Experts recommend using a little trick and preparing a nutrient solution: dilute one spoon of sugar in a small amount of prepared water, or dissolve acetylsalicylic acid. The water in the vase must be replaced every day. Also, for feeding, one of the following substances is added to the water where the lilac stands:
- one spoon of vinegar
- two tablespoons of lemon juice or acid
- one teaspoon of potassium permanganate
- two teaspoons of alcohol
The best place for a vase with lilacs
The choice of favorable conditions is important for the good preservation of a bouquet of lilacs.
Bright rays and heat lead to rapid withering of the petals, promoting intense evaporation of moisture, so you should not place the vase on the window. In addition, it is undesirable for indoor flowers to have a neighbor from the street - there may be pests on it.
It is not advisable to leave flowers in a small room with closed windows overnight - the strong aroma can cause headaches. In the evening, it is better to take them out to the balcony or to another room where no one is sleeping.
Why can’t you bring lilacs home and place them in the house?
There is a widespread belief that you should not take a bouquet of lilacs home. Passed from mouth to mouth, the rule has acquired a mass of myths and horror stories. Everything complicated is simple! Lilacs should not be placed in bedrooms where people sleep. Because the smell of the bouquet is strong and intoxicating. By the morning you may not only have a headache, but also feel ill. For allergy sufferers, it is generally contraindicated to be in a room with blooming bouquets. And if windows open for ventilation during the day help, then night can have an unfavorable effect.
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Ways to preserve a fading bouquet
Sometimes it happens that at least one branch of lilac in a bouquet begins to fade. The reason may lie in damage to the stem through which air has entered, disrupting the permeability. You need to cut off the stem above the damage, rinse it under the tap and soak it in hot water for half an hour. After these procedures, put the branch again along with others.
You can also revive a bouquet of lilacs if all the branches wither - you need to put it in water, the temperature of which is slightly below 100 ° C, for ten minutes, then place it in fresh, settled, acidified water.
If you need to give a bouquet later, and the lilac bloom is coming to an end, then it is quite possible to keep it fresh in a cold place. You need to cut off branches with inflorescences that have just begun to bloom, wrap them in film or put them in a bag, wrap them in newspaper and put them on the refrigerator shelf. In such conditions, the bouquet will last for almost two weeks.
Advice! A bouquet of lilacs received as a gift should be processed using the methods described above: peel the bark, make angled and longitudinal cuts, hold the tips of the branches for at least ten minutes in very hot water and only then place them in a vase.
Emergency resuscitation methods
If a bouquet of lilacs begins to fade or you need to transport it to another place, you can use the “flower resuscitation” method. Even an almost hopelessly wilted bouquet should be immersed in very hot water for a few minutes. Prepare water at room temperature in advance and return the bouquet to it. To transport lilacs to another place, you need to make small bags out of plastic bags for all the stems, pour a little water into them and tie them.
Tips for caring for lilacs in a vase
Carrying out the procedures necessary for flowers preserves their decorative properties for a longer period.
Bouquet of lilacs - how to care:
- do not use cold water - it needs to be settled and kept in the room;
- trim the ends of fading branches (preferably in water);
- spray with settled water every day;
- change the water regularly and add more if it decreases;
- A good way to refresh a bouquet is to submerge the branches up to the inflorescences under water overnight, covering the rest with newspaper.
Preparing the stems
If you're wondering how to keep lilacs in a vase longer, don't ignore preparing the stems before placing the flowers in the vase. Split them with a sharp blade: this way they will absorb moisture better. Some housewives use a hammer for this purpose, breaking three centimeters of the lower part of the branches with it.
If the branches are cut from a very large bush and have rough and dense bark, cut it an additional three centimeters along the grain. All these procedures are carried out immediately before immersing flowers in water, since “naked” tissues quickly lose their absorbing ability when exposed to air. This simple treatment guarantees the active absorption of oxygen and liquid by the plant’s vessels.
Interesting things about lilacs
There has long been a legend that if you find and eat a five-petaled or three-petaled lilac flower, your wish will certainly come true. So, you should know that the bitter taste of lilac comes from the glycoside syringin it contains, which is dangerous for children in large quantities. Therefore, you should not allow children to “eat” flowers with desires in large quantities.
Lilac leaves contain antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory substances - a clean leaf applied to the wound promotes rapid healing (cover the leaf with cotton wool and secure it).
When using traditional medicine recipes based on lilac, you need to be careful about the dosage and methods of application - saryngine can cause an undesirable reaction in the body, especially in children.
Interesting Facts:
- according to one version, the plant “lilac” is named after the goddess Syringa, who personifies joy and idyll; according to another version, the name is associated with the Greek word “surinx”, which is translated as tube (the structure of the flower is tubular);
- Lilac has been grown as an ornamental plant for about 5 centuries, during which time more than 600 varieties have been bred;
- culture was brought to European countries from Turkey;
- unlike all other species, Hungarian lilac has no aroma;
- extracting lilac oil is very labor-intensive and expensive, so it costs more than $100,000 per 1000 ml;
- ointments and tinctures from lilac, despite the toxic substances in the composition, are used to treat rheumatic and joint diseases;
- in Eastern countries, lilac means parting, and an English woman, refusing the groom, hands him a lilac branch;
- The lilac bush will produce more flower stalks next year if you regularly cut the branches.
In conclusion, we can say that proper cutting and proper care will preserve the fragrant, delicate bouquet of lilacs for seven days or even more.
Place for a bouquet
Many housewives think about how to preserve lilacs in a vase, without paying attention to the place where the bouquet is located. And completely in vain. Often bouquets are placed on the windowsill, and this is a common mistake. Direct sunlight has a detrimental effect on flowers: they fade.
Lilacs should not be stored next to indoor flowers: bouquets collected outdoors often harbor parasites that can cause irreparable harm to your indoor plants. We should not forget that lilac is very fragrant. Therefore, if your house already has bouquets that emit a delicate scent, do not overload the room with another fragrant “tenant”.
Preventive autumn treatment of lilacs
In autumn, preventive spraying of lilacs against fungal infections will be required:
- Bordeaux mixture (3%);
- iron sulfate (3–5%).
For preventive treatment of lilacs against fungal diseases, you can use Bordeaux mixture and iron sulfate.
After dropping the leaves, lichens and mosses are removed from the branches, then the soil in the tree trunk is dug up shallowly (5–10 cm). The root system of lilacs is superficial, so it is important not to damage the roots. After this, they spray on bare branches.
You need to spray lilacs on bare branches in the fall.
Try proven lilac varieties from a reputable supplier:
