Keeping Your Flowers Vibrant, Fresh and Fragrant

Whether you purchase flowers from your high street florist, or you have chosen to buy your blooms from an online flower shop, you will want to know how to make the best of them when they arrive at your home. This is also true for those that have been fortunate enough to have been gifted with a bouquet of freshly cut flowers. Taking care of your flowers is essential should you wish your beautiful blooms to last longer than just a few days, and we have the tips that can help you do this. Read on to discover how you can keep your flowers vibrant, fresh and fragrant, whether you have received flowers by post, or have had flowers delivered in person.

Having Flowers Delivered

If you are too busy or are unable to browse your local florist, you may choose to buy a bouquet via online flower delivery. This is a convenient way to buy flowers and is also much cheaper than many local florists. Preparation is key in this instance and it is wise to select day or same day flower delivery so you can be assured that the flowers are as fresh as possible.

Prepare the Stems

Once you have unwrapped your flowers, trim each stem, cutting at a diagonal so they absorb as much water as possible once they are placed into the vase. Once you have done this, trim the leaves from the stems that will be exposed to the water. Any leaves that are left in water will begin to rot and encourage bacteria which will cause your flowers to wither and die in a matter of days.

Prepare the Water

A quick glug of cold water is not enough to sustain your flowers and it is important to prepare the water so that your flowers will be vibrant for longer. Fill the vase to the required depth with room temperature water. Sprinkle a sachet of flower food into the water and allow it to dissolve. You can now place the flowers into the vase, being careful to ensure that all the stems have access to the water in the vase.

Maintain Your Flowers Regularly

The water and flower food in your vase will need to be changed every other day to keep your flowers looking fresh. Carefully remove the flowers from the case and wash out the vase before refilling with room temperature water and flower food. While placing the flowers back in the vase, take care to remove any that are dying or rotting so they do not affect the remaining flowers.

Keep Them in the Shade

Although plants and flowers that are yet to be cut can benefit from sunlight, freshly cut flowers need to be kept away from harsh light and heat. Sunlight will cause your flowers to quickly fade and the heat could result in your flowers becoming dehydrated. Place your vase of flowers away from a window, being sure to keep them in a draft-free area so the petals from your newly acquired bouquet don’t get whisked away in a breeze.

Improvise

If you have run out of flower food or didn’t receive any when your bouquet was delivered, there are some household items that can help prolong the appearance of your flowers. Clear soda is thought to be a fantastic way to retain your flowers with just ¼ cup keeping flowers looking great for up to ten days. Remember to keep topping up the soda when you change the water, and this could be a fantastic fall-back method when you don’t have any flower food to hand.