I would like to give a few practical advice about how to extend the life of flowers. After all, there is nothing sadder than a beautiful flower arrangement that has withered in a matter of days...
It turns out that there are a huge number of interesting and varied techniques that extend the life of bouquets. I selected those that seemed to me the most effective and easy to implement.
To make flowers last longer:
1. If you bring flowers into the house during the cold season, do not rush to put them in a vase. Flowers should acclimatize (preferably in a cool place) for an hour.
2. If you cut flowers yourself, do it early in the morning. It turns out that during the night the flowers rest and are saturated with moisture, so the plants cut in the morning are more viable.
3. Free the flowers from the packaging. This must also be done for aesthetic reasons. Fresh flowers are beautiful in themselves; they don’t need all these decorations made of film and corrugated paper.
4. Be sure to cut off all the leaves from the bottom of the stem: the leaves will not rot, and the stems will receive more water.
5. Under cold water cut the stems diagonally by 1-2 cm (air entering the hollow stem will shorten the life of the flowers).
6. If flowers have a hard stem, such as roses, chrysanthemums or lilacs, you can split the stems by 2-3 cm or crush the ends with a wooden hammer for better access to water.
7. If milky juice is released from the stem when pruning, before placing the flowers in the vase, immerse the ends of the stems in boiling water for a couple of seconds.
8. Hard tap water is harmful not only to people, but also to flowers. Use settled or boiled water for your bouquets. room temperature.
9. A tablespoon will soften hard water. citric acid or vinegar.
10. Half a tablet of aspirin, a teaspoon of salt or alcohol will help prevent stem rotting.
11. Sugar (1-2 tablespoons added to water) will prolong the life of living flowers.
12. You need to trim flowers and change water daily! This is probably main secret long life of almost all flowers. Every day you should trim the stems by 1 cm and fill the vase with clean water.
13. Daily spraying with cool water will help refresh the bouquet.
14. To get rid of plaque on the inner walls, the vase needs to be washed soda solution. Plant stems also need to be thoroughly washed when changing water.
15. A vase of fruit standing next to flowers will speed up their withering.
16. Not all flowers get along with each other. The most aggressive for other flowers are carnations, lilies of the valley, and primroses; It is also advisable to place daffodils, roses of contrasting colors, lilies and tulips in separate vases.
17. You can revive a bouquet by immersing it in warm water up to the buds for 1-2 hours. The flowers will be saturated with water and will last much longer.
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Each type of flower has its own approach
Roses
We cut off the ends of the stems, crush them with a hammer or split them into 2-4 cm, remove the leaves and thorns below the water level. It is useful to place the tips of the stems in very hot water for 10-20 seconds before placing the roses in the vase. Ideal solution for roses: half a tablet of aspirin, a spoonful of sugar. At the same time, pour as much water into the vase as possible and change it daily.
Tulips
We cut the ends of the stems diagonally and place them in a vase with big amount water with aspirin added. Fill the vase as the tulips absorb water. Tulips can be refreshed by wrapping them tightly in paper and leaving them in a cool place or in the refrigerator overnight.
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Lilac
We remove the leaves and crush the ends of the stems with a hammer, then immerse them in a bowl of warm water. We wait for the flowers to dry after the “bath” and place them in cool water. Lilacs do not like heat - choose a cool place for the vase.
Chrysanthemums
We remove leaves and small shoots, split or crush the stems with a hammer, immerse them in the bath for a couple of hours, and then place them in a vase with plenty of water.
Peonies
Peonies love water: we tear off the leaves, leaving no more than 2-3 pieces, and place them in a large amount of water with the addition of sugar and citric acid.
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Gerberas
Trim in hot water (+60°C). Add sugar and a little alcohol to the water.
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Carnations
We cut the stems in the area of the thickened node, place them in water with added sugar and half a tablet of aspirin.
Hydrangeas
We cut the hard stem by 5 cm and lower it into alcohol or boiling water for a few seconds. We carefully monitor the cleanliness of the water and the vase.
Lilies
We remove the anthers - the dark tips of the stamens with pollen.
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Asters
Remove short stems with small leaves before placing in a vase. We change the water as often as possible, then the asters will last up to 2 weeks.
Orchids
They love warm water. From time to time we immerse the stems in a warm bath.
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It is important to remember that a bouquet of fresh flowers requires constant attention and care. We often leave the bouquet for a week at dirty water, and then we complain about the fragility of the cut plants. Surprisingly, with proper care, flowers can last for more than one week!
And one more piece of advice: don’t deal with flowers if you are in bad mood or tired - the flowers will feel everything and quickly wither. It’s not for nothing that they say that flowers given with love last the longest!
If you have your own secrets on how to make flowers last longer, please share them in the comments.
Choosing a bouquet requires taste and some knowledge.
It is necessary to take into account not only the age and character of the person for whom we are choosing a bouquet, but also the zodiac sign of this person according to the horoscope.
To make flowers last longer, you need to know a few simple rules.
A flower, just like a person, is sensitive and, when cut, experiences stress because it is forcibly deprived of food and water. The main reason for wilting of flowers in a vase is dehydration of the plant, lack of supply of water and sucrose necessary for the plant.
This is necessary for both persistent gerberas and capricious orchids and the aster-star of the garden, my favorite flower in the country.
Flowers for a bouquet should be cut with a sharp tool, preferably a good garden pruner.
Step by step, we save the life of our bouquet.
The first step is adaptation
In order for the flowers to recover from stress, give them the opportunity to adapt to the conditions of your apartment.
Do not rush to immediately release the bouquet from the packaging, first unroll the stems.
Avoid sudden changes temperature regime, since a sudden change in temperature is detrimental to plants.
A bouquet cannot be immediately brought from a cold street into a warm room.
First, you need to make the flowers last longer, leave them in a cool room - the lobby, hallway, bathroom, balcony.
And from the heat, in turn, you cannot immediately put it under cold air from the air conditioner.
Gradually it is necessary to get used to the temperature of the room where the flowers will be located.
Women's flowers not only decorate life, some leaves - dandelion, echinaceae - are used for unusual salads.
Second step - preparing flowers for installation in a vase
We clear the branches and trunk of excess foliage. If the leaves remain on the trunk and branches up to the water level in the vase, then the water in the vase will quickly deteriorate, the leaves and branches in the water will begin to rot. This is especially important for delicate flowers, such as orchids.
The smell of rotting greenery is very unpleasant. And the view too.
To make the flowers last longer, we trim the stems of the plants in the bouquet.
A long oblique cut is made in a deep and spacious container or under running water.
It is necessary to prune in water so that air bubbles do not clog the vessels of the plant tissue and prevent the access of water.
The stems are cut obliquely only with a sharp, sharpened knife.
If you cut with scissors, the scissors will crush the sections of plant fibers and water through the vessels of the stem tissue will not be able to rise to the flower.
But it’s too early to put a bouquet in a vase; you need to keep the flowers in a container with pre-settled and warm water (without bleach) for another 30-40 minutes.
This needs to be done so that not only the entire stem is in water, but the flower too.
Third step - placing flowers in a vase
Before placing flowers in a vase, carefully inspect your bouquet; all wrinkled and wilted leaves and flowers must be removed.
Withered leaves and flowers will take up a large amount of water, depriving healthy flowers and, in addition, withered greenery gives a signal to the entire branch about the end of its life function.
It is better to use boiled, warm water for flowers. When using tap water (it contains many impurities), be sure to! Necessarily! you need to save the water.
The fourth step - take care and enjoy
- preservatives:
- aspirin,
- or sugar,
- or salt
- and etc
- for water disinfection:
- potassium permanganate (0.5 teaspoon),
- or alcohol,
- or vinegar.
In flower shops you can buy special products, for example: chrysal, ammonium.
There should be fresh and clean water in the vase at all times. Muddy water, spoiled by rotting leaves, leads to the fact that the bouquet will soon have to be thrown away.
- Change the water constantly. Repeat the procedure with trimming the stems.
- Do not place flowers in direct sunlight. It is best to choose a cool place, away from heating devices.
- Do not place flowers in drafts.
- Don't place fruit nearby.
- Spray the bouquet from time to time.
The life of flowers is short and you can make it longer.
Flowers in the office, bouquets at home and indoor flowers need our care and attention. For flower lovers there is a special flower horoscope.
How nice it is to receive a luxurious bouquet as a gift! Flowers are a symbol of selfless, sincere love and tenderness of feelings, respect, appreciation or gratitude. And I really want to extend the life of cut flowers so that they please us for as long as possible while in the vase. Some subtleties, methods and techniques of caring for flower bouquets we will reveal it.
The path of flowers from the store to the recipient
When choosing a bouquet in a store, remember that delicate, fragile, charming creatures are afraid of sharp temperature contrasts, for example, when they are plunged from a warm cozy store into the bitter winter cold or taken out to be torn apart by the winds in the off-season. If it’s cold outside, be sure to ask the seller to wrap and carefully pack your purchase in wrapping paper or film. Heat-loving flowers that do not tolerate temperatures below zero very well include anthuriums, strelitzia, orchids and other aliens from the southern regions. If they stay in the cold for some time, this is fraught with the appearance of dark spots. But I would classify tulips as frost-resistant, “hardened” flowers - just wrap them well in paper, then even minus 15 degrees is not scary for them. The opposite point is that flowers are afraid of extreme heat, stuffiness and scorching sun. If you keep your bouquet for some time under the intense rays of the sultry sun, it will only be able to withstand a couple of hours. And then no amount of “resuscitation” will save these lifeless creatures. The conclusion is simple: men, on hot days in the summer, do not leave the bouquet in the car before presenting it to your beloved. If you turn on the “stove” in your car in winter to warm the flowers, pay attention so that the jets of hot air do not fall directly on the bouquet.
First actions
And so the delightful bouquet escaped the frost and ended up in warm hands the recipient, her sincere smile made the surroundings even brighter. But don’t rush to immediately run into the room for a vase and pour cold water into it from the tap. Let the flowers first get used to their new environment for about ten minutes. In the meantime, inhale the delicate and subtle aroma they exude. Now you can carefully remove the leaves and twigs from the lower part of the stem, which will be in the water. Be sure to trim the tip of the stem, and it is advisable to do this under running cool water (or in a bowl of water), then the conducting vessels will not become clogged with air, so your flowers will better absorb life-giving water. The longer you can make the cuts, the better. Take a sharp knife for this procedure. If the stem is hard, for example, like a lilac, then split about 5 cm from the bottom, like a panicle.
If milky juice is released from the stems (this happens with euphorbias, poppies, and narcissus), then after pruning, immediately dip their tips in very hot water for just a few seconds. Otherwise, in cold water, the milky sap will quickly coagulate and immediately clog the conducting vessels of the plant. When performing this procedure, hold the stems at an angle to protect the buds and flowers themselves from hot water vapor. Some people ask the question - why remove the beautiful green lower leaves? We will explain:
- This will prevent rotting of those parts of the plant that are under water in the vase.
- Significantly reduces the evaporation surface.
It is especially important to trim the lower parts of the plant for roses, chrysanthemums, and lilacs.
At first, the flowers will “drink” a lot, so fill the vase almost to the top. After a few hours, check to see if you can add more. And only dip the gerberas in water to one third of their entire length. The fact is that the stem of these plants is covered with small hairs that quickly rot in an aquatic environment; this will be indicated by the mucus that appears.
It is advisable that the water for flowers be settled (at least 4 hours). Don't put your bouquet in very cold water, let it be cool or warm. Euphorbia, gerbera and lilac prefer water at least plus 18 degrees. But mimosa branches can be placed even in hot water; its inflorescences will enjoy being sprayed with cool water.
Don’t forget to change your pets’ water every day, while cutting their stems at an angle. At a flower shop you can buy a bag of special preservative, the contents of which are poured into the water for cut flowers. Now let’s touch on the features of caring for different flowers.
Roses
Before placing luxurious, graceful roses in a vase, trim the lower parts of small branches with leaves and thorns with scissors. If your “queens” belong to the “Grand Prix” variety, do not cut the main stem for the first two days, otherwise the buds will quickly show all their beauty and the petals will fall off early. After you have unpacked the bouquet, saturate your roses with water by placing them in a bathtub with cool water previously filled there. If the roses are of other varieties, immediately cut the stems slightly diagonally under water and leave for several hours - water treatments they will be refreshed. Please note that the cut ends are in an aqueous environment, but let the heads remain in the air. Roses will love it if you give them such baths every night. If this is not possible, then it is enough to change the water in the vase every day, trim the stems every other day, washing their ends under running water. Roses have a capricious temperament, they do not get along with other flowers, keep them separate from other plants. For example, the smell emitted by carnations or lilies can have a depressing effect on roses. Roses really don't like smoky rooms, drafts and direct bright sunlight.
The longest-lasting roses are burgundy or red roses belonging to the Forever Young and Freedom varieties. As a rule, roses with elongated buds and large petals of pink or white flowers please their blooming view short term.
Tulips
You need to cut (or buy) tulips that have already acquired their color - their heads have become red, pink or yellow. If your tulips have rubber bands, this means that they are already overripe. And if you remove the rubber bands, the tulips can quickly fall apart into petals. If tulips are kept horizontal for a long time, their stems may become twisted or bent. To avoid this, transport such bouquets in thick paper. Don’t remove the paper right away, just renew their cuts and leave the ends in cold water for several hours - let them drink and straighten out. Then remove the packaging, leave two leaves on each plant, and cut off the rest. Add a little sugar to the water for the vase to make the flowers last longer, and immerse the bouquet in it. These flowers continue to grow even in a vase (sometimes up to five centimeters), when they begin to open, be gentle with the flowers, the petals have a very weak attachment, they can fly off. And one more secret - tulips will last longer if you add ice cubes to the water every day.
Gerberas
The heads of these plants are heavy and the stems are thin, so they must be transported in boxes. It often happens that the stem becomes bent at the base of the flower head. There is no need to try to correct the situation with your hands, otherwise the fragile flower may break in your hands. Gradual leveling will occur on its own when the flower drinks warm water from the vase. Prefer a tall vessel if the stems are long. Sometimes, to give stability, soft and flexible stems are placed in transparent tubes or wrapped with a thin wire. We remind you that you should not pour a lot of water into the vase; it is enough to submerge the stems only 7 centimeters. The water will have to be changed frequently, while washing the slimy stems, preventing them from rotting. You can throw a pinch of salt or citric acid into the vase. With proper care, gerberas will last more than two weeks.
Orchids
The room where you place the orchids should be cool, but avoid drafts. Place the vase in a lighted place, but direct sunlight should not disturb the plant. The twigs are usually sold in capsules. Remove these cones; they are only needed for transportation. Yours
orchids will feel better and last longer in ordinary clean water. Just remember to change the water and trim your branches, then their flowering will continue for more than three weeks.
Chrysanthemums
But these autumn beauties do not require special care. Just try to promptly remove dried leaves from the bottom of the hard stem; the tips can be slightly split or crushed. Chrysanthemums will like it if the air in the room is cool (temperature no higher than 20 degrees); if the climate is hotter, then the flowering, unfortunately, will not be as abundant and long-lasting. Change the water every other day, trim the ends; with proper care, chrysanthemums will look fresh for four weeks. And if, nevertheless, your chrysanthemums drooped and began to wither, then try to cheer them up using this method: first immerse the stems in a vase with hot water for a few minutes and
then immediately - with a cold one. After such contrasts, slightly trim the stems and place the bouquet in a vase filled with water at room temperature. There is a high probability that the bouquet will come to life.
- Large leaves coming out of the vase, as well as petals of roses, freesia, narcissus, carnations, lily of the valley, are recommended to be lightly sprayed periodically. But camellias should not be subjected to such procedures, so that stains do not appear and the delicate petals do not curl.
- If the bouquet has withered, then place it for a while in a bathtub, which you first fill halfway with cool water.
- The best water for cut flowers is spring water. If it is not there, then the one in which the shungite stones have lain for a day will do. If you are given bouquets often, then buy fertilizer in the store that is intended specifically for cut flowers.
- The vase should not be crowded, flowers different types do not coexist very well with each other, this applies, for example, to daffodils and tulips. Roses, lilies of the valley, and chrysanthemums are incompatible with other plants.
- You can add citric acid (or an Aspirin tablet) to the carnations in the vase.
- Irises love cold water; you can periodically throw ice cubes into the vase.
- Flowers will quickly fade if the water in the vase has a musty, rotting smell.
- A bouquet left in a hot kitchen or near heating radiators will last less time, so place your bouquets in cool places.
- If there are several buds on a branch, then remove the faded flowers, then the remaining buds will certainly open.
- Do not place fruits near a vase of flowers, especially apples, which emit ethylene gas when ripe; it has been observed that plants are very sensitive to it.
- If you were given a flower arrangement in a basket, then most likely the flowers are placed in floral foam, which, when hardened, looks like a foam brick. This material retains water inside itself. Don't forget to add water daily.
Let the tips described above help extend the life of your bouquets of roses, chrysanthemums, tulips... Take care of your flowers correctly, then they will delight you for a long time as a sign of gratitude.
Text: Olga Kim
Nothing pleases the eye more than a bouquet of flowers presented with love and tenderness. But how to extend their life so that they smell fragrant and lift your spirits for as long as possible? There are several secrets to preserving flowers in water.
Flowers are a symbol of joy, happiness and positive emotions
Almost every bouquet of flowers is unique. And how I want to make flowers last longer! It's sad to watch them fade, especially when it happens literally the next day after receiving them.
There is a popular belief that if a bouquet fades very quickly, it was not given from the heart. Experienced florists refute this theory and approach this theory quite critically. They assure that in order for flowers to last longer, you need to follow the rules for storing them and then they will last in water for a very, very long time.
What should you do to make flowers last longer?
The most popular ways to preserve the freshness of flowers are an aspirin tablet, sugar, a few drops of vinegar and even a copper coin at the bottom of a vase, which, according to legend, purifies the water from bacteria that are harmful to flowers.
We won't refute folk recipes preserving flowers, because really with the help of these means the life of flowers is extended. But no more than a week. The water still becomes cloudy, and this is precisely because of bacteria. Therefore, in order for flowers to last longer, along with the listed folk ways Several more measures need to be applied.
- If you choose flowers as a gift, then from the very beginning you need to determine their freshness. This is very simple to do: press on the stem and bud of each flower. If they are soft, then it is better not to buy such flowers. Make your choice only on strong stems and buds - they are the freshest.
- The vase and the water in it must be clean. You cannot use a container from another bouquet. After you throw away the bouquet, the vase needs to be washed with soap or a cleaning agent, and very thoroughly.
- Tap water is contraindicated for flowers; it contains too much chemical substances, harmful to flowers. For the bouquet you need to take only settled water at room temperature. The one that is usually used for watering flowers in pots. All chemicals from such water have evaporated.
- The vase should only be glass. All other vases easily absorb various substances into their walls, and, in particular, bacteria from water for previous bouquets.
- It’s sad, but leaves must be removed from the stems. The fact is that the leaves take up a lot of moisture, which simply does not reach the buds. Also, leaves in water begin to quickly rot, which spoils the water and is a source of breeding bacteria.
- Before placing the bouquet in water, the stems of each flower must be cut off. Moreover, this cut should be long and oblique. This is done for the best flow of water into the stem.
- Place the vase with the bouquet closer to sunlight, but not near the battery. This will cause the water to deteriorate much faster and the buds and stems to dry out.
Such measures will help the flowers last as long as possible. But you must admit, nothing can replace emotions when giving a bouquet. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how much flowers cost in your home, the main thing is how and by whom they were given.
What can you do to make flowers last longer in a vase?Flowers decorate our lives. Vase with Flowers the best option room decor. The only pity is that the presented bouquet of roses, carnations or tulips quickly fades. What can you do to make flowers last longer in water?
Cut flowers have quite short life, but still, there are several ways that will help extend their life and keep them fresh a little longer.
Choose the right flowers
The most important condition for preserving a bouquet for a long time is to choose the right one. fresh flowers. They will last in a vase for a long time. Expired products, especially processed ones by special means to maintain its presentation, it will not please you for a long time, no matter what you do with it. If you cut flowers from your own garden, they are guaranteed to be fresh. But flowers cut early in the morning will last longer. Use for this sharp knife and make the cut at an angle.
When buying a bouquet, it is useful to look at the stems: the cut should be green and light. If it has darkened, choose another flower. The leaves must also be fresh. Dried tips or cut leaves indicate that the product has been stale.
The presented bouquet can be anything. Never believe fairy tales that “if flowers are given from the heart, they last a long time.” Experienced sellers know many tricks to give fresh look product, any buyer can make a mistake in choosing.
How to keep flowers in a vase longer?
The main condition is the availability of fresh and clean water. Be that as it may, bacteria begin to multiply in a vase with water, which accelerate the process of rotting of the stem. It's worse when there are leaves in the water. They cause the water in the vase to become cloudy and acquire an unpleasant putrid odor. Naturally, no flowers will last long in such water. That is why the water in the vase must be changed every day. At the same time, do not forget to wash the vase itself.
Before placing flowers in a vase, remove all lower leaves. The tips of the stems are cut off, and for roses they are split. Do not use scissors under any circumstances, as this tool causes damage and blockage of blood vessels. Daily pruning and changing water are necessary for almost all flowers. This allows you to preserve the freshness and aroma of floral splendor.
The water in the vase should be COLD. Especially for tulips, chrysanthemums, roses. It would be a good idea to add ice cubes to the vase. If it’s hot at home, you can take the roses out onto the balcony if it’s glazed and the temperature isn’t below freezing.
At any flower shop you can buy a special powder for preserving flowers in a bouquet. You can extend the life of your favorite bouquet with an aspirin tablet or citric acid. For 1 liter of water, add 1 tablet of crushed aspirin or 1 g of citric acid, 1 teaspoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of 8% vinegar, a teaspoon of alcohol-containing products or 1 drop of chlorine-containing products. Half a tablet of streptomycin in three liters of water will give the same effect. This guarantees long-lasting freshness flower arrangement. The effect of these substances is almost the same - they do not allow putrefactive bacteria to multiply quickly. Actually, this is what their entire action consists of.
Roses and tulips are placed deep in water. Daffodils and daisies can be placed in any way you like, but they quickly “drink” the rhoda, so it is better to pour more water. Gerberas have a hairy stem that cannot be immersed deep in water. Pour enough liquid into the vase so that no more than one third of the stem is in water. It is recommended to immerse them in water no more than 5cm.
To keep your flowers fresh in the vase longer, you need proper care. And it depends on what kind of flowers they gave you.
Roses They are quite capricious, so they need to be constantly monitored. Do not forget about the cut, removing all the thorns and lower leaves. Be sure to cut the stem in water so that air does not get into the vessels of the flower. Sometimes it is recommended to dip the tip of the stem in boiling water. Now you can put the flowers in the vase. It is better to take a tall vase for roses, as these flowers love a lot of water. At night, it is recommended to immerse the roses in a bath of water so that the stems are completely submerged. Even already fading roses quickly come to life from such procedures. True, they don’t look fresh for long after such a bath.
Tulips They are short-lived, fall off quickly, so it is very difficult to keep them fresh. Tulips quickly bloom and age, which is why they are sold with rubber bands on the buds. These rubber bands prevent the flowers from opening. If you remove them, the flowers will quickly bloom and fall off in the warmth. Will help cold water with ice. If the tulips are already beginning to droop their heads, then place them in a bucket of cold water overnight so that the stems and leaves are completely submerged in water. Never put tulips in warm water, they only need cold water.
Daffodils They last in a vase for quite a long time. The stems secrete a thick juice, so the water should be used cold and changed regularly. Daffodils are not placed in a vase with other flowers.
Carnations- rather persistent flowers, but their life can be extended. Change the water in the vase every day, making sure that the water for the carnations is at room temperature. Renew the cut on the stem, but only in the part where there is a thickening. A little sugar in water will also help prolong the life of the cloves. And under no circumstances place carnations with other flowers. They don't like "neighbors."
Chrysanthemums, like carnations, are also very persistent flowers. To preserve them, it is enough to change the water in the vase every other day and trim the tip of the stem every two days. Also make a small split on the stem. Handle the stems very carefully as they are very fragile. Lower leaves be sure to delete.