Make Cut Flowers Last Longer

There's nothing like having fresh cut flowers in your home. They can add fragrance and beauty to a space. But once a flower is cut from the bush, its life span is drastically shortened. Without some way to help preserve them, they will only last a few days. Here is one way to help your flowers live longer in your home.

Flowers should be picked at their peak of freshness, preferably during early morning or after sundown. Use a sharp stem cutter, knife or pruning shears. It doesn't matter whether you cut the stems on the slant or straight across. To help preserve the flowers until you place them in a vase; immediately upon cutting, plunge the flowers deeply into moderately cool water. Don't leave them exposed to the air for very long, the flowers could wilt. Before placing in a vase, remove all foliage from the stem portion that will be submerged in water and make a fresh stem cut, either straight or slanted.

Wash and rinse the vase thoroughly before using to remove any residue that might be inside. When submerging the flowers the amount of water used is immaterial, as long as stems are submerged in the water. However, the more water, the greater chance of bacterial invasion. Arrange flowers so as not to overcrowd.

Use a flower preservative to help control bacteria growth. It can add days to the life span of cut flowers; help develop unopened buds on spike flowers; encourage fuller blooms and prevent fading. Select the preservative recommended for the predominant flower in your arrangement.

Add a little cool water as needed every day or so. You do not have the change the water daily, re-cut the stems or add more preservative. Keep cut flowers cool (40^oor 50^o F), out of the sun and away from drafts and keep them in a room of high humidity.

Decrease the strong smell of the marigolds by removing the foliage and placing the stems in sugar water solution (1/2 cup of sugar to 1 quart of water). Snip the lower florets from snapdragons, delphinium, gladioli and stock as soon as they have passed their prime, to foster bloom of the upper buds.