09/09/10

Whether cut from your garden or brought to you as a lovely bouquet, you want the flower arrangements you display to look fresh and beautiful as long as possible. Cut flowers can keep up this appearance for several days rather than just a day or two. All they need is a little extra effort to help them last a little longer. The following tips will help you keep those fragrant blooms around a little longer.

Before placing flowers in a vase, cut them with sharp scissors or shears under running, lukewarm water. This helps to hydrate more of the flower. Cut the stems at an angle for maximum benefit.

Strip the stems of any foliage that might go below the water line in the vase. Plucking away all the leaves along the stem of the flower will give your arrangement more room. Plus, any leaves in the vase water can cause a mucky build-up.

Pour out the old water and add fresh water at least every couple of days. You may also want to re-cut the stems to infuse the flowers with fresh water.

If your flowers came from the florist with one of those little packets of flower food, add it to your vase water before putting the flowers in to give them a healthy boost. For your homegrown arrangements, similar products can be found at your local gardening store.

When readying the flowers and container for arranging, you can keep flowers wrapped loosely in a damp paper towels or newspapers so that the blooms don’t go limp before you can get them all arranged.

If you follow these few helpful hints, you will help your flower arrangements share their beauty for days longer than you thought possible. So give your flowers a little help and then sit back and smell the roses, or tulips, or lilies.