While there's nothing better than flowers fresh from your local farmer, there's nothing worse that watching them wilt and die prematurely. That moment can be prevented with these few tips for fresh flower care.
Put them in Water
This may seem a little obvious, but we've all been there: several errands and distractions later and before you know it, our beautiful flowers are lying limp on the car seat with the sun beating down on them. If you're going to be several hours from home, it's best to leave the fresh flower purchases until the last thing. Remember flowers are a living thing and they need water to stay alive. Giving them water as soon as possible gives you the greatest chance of vibrant flowers for days on end.
Start with a Clean Vessel
Bacteria is the number one culprit when it comes to the early demise of your flowers. Bacteria in water can quickly clog the end of the stem preventing it from drinking water. The solution? Nix the bacteria. Make sure your vase or vessel is clean. The rule of
thumb in floristry is to have a vessel clean enough to drink from!
Use Flower Food
Those little packets of flower food which come with your bouquet are really, truly, helpful. Not only do they work to prevent the growth of bacteria, but they help feed the flower and keep it blooming longer. Read the directions on the packet and follow it :) You can stash your little packets away but you'll be losing out on longer living flowers!
Change the Water + trim the stems
Even with a clean vessel and flower food, the stem of your flower will still begin to break down in the water eventually. After 3 days, a change of water and a fresh snip of the stems, roughly half an inch, will keep the stem open and able to drink freely.
Act like a Florist
If you really want to eeeeek out every possible second of floral enjoyment, do what the florists do: keep the bouquet out of direct sunlight and place it in a cool environment every evening. A refrigerator will work IF the flowers don't touch the sides and your refrigerator doesn't freeze. A freeze will be the end of it, so this approach is risky, but science shows there's nothing better to prolong the life of a flower than to put it in the fridge.
Farm Fresh Flowers
Flowers that are from a local farm have been harvested within days of gracing your home, so there's no need to snip the ends when you first receive them. Often, flowers in a store have been harvested weeks before and traveled far, so a fresh snip is great to waken up the stem. But truly local flowers have just been cut when harvested so you can safely hold off on cutting them again for about three days.
Loving your farm fresh flowers is easy and caring for them should be easy too. A few small steps and you can enjoy your flowers for days and days!
Happy Flowering!
Warmly,
Sarah Jo