FLOWER CARE TIPS

Tip #1: Trim the ends and change the water entirely every 2-3 days.

Flowers drink a lot of water! It is not uncommon for a large flower arrangement to suck up all the

water in a vase within the first day or two you have it at home. Keep the vase full to ensure the

flowers do not dry out and wilt. Flowers are also highly susceptible to bacteria that build up as

stems sit in the water. Changing the water in the vase every few days, even if the water hasn’t

been used up, will help keep your flowers fresh longer. DON’T use water treated with softener salt.

Vase life will be very short if softened water is used.

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Tip #2: Trim the tulips, not the narcissus/daffodils.

Tulips continue to grow in the vase; their height will make them look out of place. Trim

them back when you change the water. If the arrangement has both narcissus/daffodils and tulips,

you have 2 options. Don’t trim the narcissus/daffodils, or trim them, but let them soak for 10 minutes

or so in their own cup of water. They have a sap that is toxic to the tulips. By soaking them

separately, then putting them back with the tulips, they won’t be toxic to the tulips, and everyone will

look their best as long as they can.

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Tip #3: Keep your flowers away from heat and bright light.

Sometimes people think they should set their vase of flowers in a sunny windowsill since that is

where a plant would be happiest. However, cut flowers are actually the opposite of potted plants.

They are at their peak of perfection. Sun and heat will encourage them to “mature” and thus quicken

their demise. Instead, keep your cut flowers in a cool, shady spot if you would like them to last as

long as possible.

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Tip #4:Don’t place flowers near fruit or vegetables, especially bananas and apples.

Ripening fruit gives off an odorless, invisible gas called ethylene. This gas is harmless to humans,

but the science behind it is that flowers are the precursor of fruit. Once a flower is pollinated, it begins to

develop into a fruit so it can form seeds and start the plant life cycle over again. Ethylene is the

gaseous hormone in the plant that induces the flower to drop its petals and become a fruit. As the

fruit matures, it continues to give off ethylene. When you sit your vase of flowers next to ripening

fruit, you’re exposing them to this gas, and they will decide they’d better drop their petals the way

Mother Nature intended.

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Tip #5: Between bouquets, wash the mason jar in hot soapy water or the dishwasher.

Bacteria build up in dirty vases and do not go away just because the vase dries out. As soon as you

add water again, the vase will once again be full of bacteria, and your new bouquet will be subjected

to the same bacteria that killed the last bouquet. Give your flowers a fresh, clean environment free of

bacteria, and they will last much longer.

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Tip #6: Use “flower food” for most flowers.

While changing the water every other day or so is often just as effective for making flowers last

longer, adding those flower food packets that come with packaged flowers is beneficial as well. In

addition to “feeding” the bouquet, these food packets contain a bactericide that keeps the water

fresh for a day or two longer. You can make your own flower food by adding about 1 teaspoon of

sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of bleach to your vase before adding about a

quart of warm tap water. It is worth noting that there are a few flowers that actually do NOT like

flower food in the vase (zinnias, sunflowers). But the spring subscription flowers will appreciate the

flower food.

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Tip #7: Use sharp scissors or a knife when cutting.

If you use dull old scissors or snips to trim your flowers, you are often smashing and thus damaging

the tissue/cells at the end of the stem. Damaged cells cannot absorb water as effectively as healthy

cells. Sharp scissors ensure a clean cut that leaves cells unharmed (except the poor few that

inevitably get sliced).