Q: I love fresh cut flowers, but am really bad at keeping cut flowers fresh. Can
someone please tell me how to keep cut flowers fresh? Do I need a special
solution to keep cut flowers fresh? Put another way, what is the best way to
keep cut flowers fresh the longest?
This is an excellent question! Lets say that youve just got a bouquet or
floral arrangement home. Maybe it was delivered (wrapped or in water), or you
picked the flowers up at a florist or even the grocery store. So youre
wondering how best to prepare and display the flowers to extend their life. The
good news is that keeping flowers fresh for as long as possible is fairly
straightforward.
As soon as you have the flowers at home you remove them from the wrap, or remove
them from the water theyre currently in. You will cut about an inch, maybe even
a little bit more, off the bottom of the stems. Cut at approximately a 45 degree
angle not straight across. Why? Because flowers take up water through the
stem, and cutting at an angle gives a greater area for the flower to absorb
water through. Use a sharp knife or sharp shears that last thing you want to
do is to crush the stem; you want a nice clean through cut. While youre doing
this, also be sure to strip any foliage that will be in or under water all you
want in the water is the stem, no buds or leaves. Leaves in the water will
contribute to rot, and shorten the lifetime of your flowers.
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