Secrets to Stunning Fresh Cut Flowers

Fresh flowers add color and emotion to any room or situation. But unless properly cared for fresh flowers can quickly fade and droop. I have watched my Aunt prepare gorgeous bouquets and arrangements at her shop in Northeast Georgia for years, and picked up a few insider's tips and tricks.

Follow these tips to keep your flowers fresh and vibrant, whether purchased from a local florist, a mail-order company or cut from your own garden.

First, if you are cutting your own flowers, try to choose buds that have not completely bloomed out. This is especially true for roses and other flower blossoms with many layers of petals. Remember, if arrange properly, a flower will continue to bloom a bit after you put it in the vase. So choose roses that have just started to open, and you will be able to watch them unfold for up to two weeks, instead of just a couple of days.

Online companies like ProFlowers.com use this philosophy to make sure the flowers you order are still fresh. The buds lie dormant in the box for two days during the shipping, so by the time they arrive at your door they are just starting open. The initial bouquet is not as majestic looking, but you will definitely get your money's worth out your flower purchase.

If you are cutting your own, make sure to have good, sharp garden shears to make a clean cut. The flower stem is like a delicate straw, with many veins to carry water to the bloom. A classic experiment from grammar school uses carnations and colored water to demonstrate the path of water to the bloom. As the carnation sits in the vase of blue (or red) water, its stem draws it up and circulates it throughout the delicate petals, keeping them vibrant and richly colored. The flower begins to droop when the stem is no longer able to draw water up to keep the petals filled out.

Making a clean, sharp cut will help keep the vein endings open to draw up the water. Using dull scissors or knives tears the veins and closes them up.

Also, be sure to leave enough stem to make the arrangement you want. It's always better to cut a much longer stem than necessary so you can clean up the ends and make them the desired length based on your vase selection.