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How to Make Fresh Flowers Last Longer

Floral decor at home can be a great, sustainable, and beautiful way to make your home look beautiful and bring a little bit of nature inside. The mere presence of flowers makes people feel happy, reduces stress, and dramatically improves the atmosphere. Unlike decor made from synthetic materials, flowers are eco friendly and biodegradable when bought from the right place.

But the problem is that fresh floral arrangement don’t last very long without the proper care, and keeping your flowers fresh and bright can take up a lot of your time. Even with all the right steps, you will need to buy new flowers whenever they need to be displayed, but the scent, the vibrancy, and the influence they have on the interior is all worth it!

Keeping flowers fresh for as long as you canis a great way to save a lot of money and effort in the long run, and here are some ways you can do that.

Make Sure the Flowers are Fresh

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All your attempts to keep your flowers fresh will be in vain if you don’t make sure that your flowers are fresh in the first place. If you’re not getting farm-fresh flowers delivery, you’re already starting with a handicap.

Grow and cut your flowers yourself, opt for same day delivery options, and really look into how you can make sure you get the freshest blooms you can find. If you take care of them properly, your floral arrangements will be able to last about a week before they need to be changed.

Cutting and Pruning

When you put your flowers in water, you want to make sure that they last a while. The contents of the water are there solely for this purpose – to keep the petals mousturized and looking fresh. Over time, the flowers will absorb the water from the vase to retail their moisture and firmness.

The presence of useless petals and leaves will just steal precious moisture away from the parts of the flower that you do want to preserve, which is why it’s a good idea to prune the flower properly and make sure all leaves and damaged petals are removed before adding the flower to the vase.

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When cutting the stems, make sure you cut diagonally. This will ensure that the flowers have maximum surface area for water absorption and are able to stay fresh for longer.

Make Sure Everything is Clean

To prevent flowers from decaying and being too damaged, you need to make sure the water and container you’re putting your flowers in are all free of any bacteria, freshly washed, and clean.

When changing flowers, thoroughly wash the vase with soap and use filtered, clean water to put the flowers in. Next, make sure to clean the stems of the flowers too before you add them to the water, and ensure proper hygiene at each step.

How to Preserve an Arrangement in a Vase

Probably the most important thing to think about when preserving a fresh floral arrangement is the water inside the vase. At least 3 to 4 inches of the stems should be subnmerged in this water, which should be clean and fresh itself.

Make it too concentrated and the flowers will end up losing moisture instead of getting some. Make it too diluted and the flowers are going to open up too much and loose their shape – maybe even loose some petals. Keep reading to find out what you can add to the water to keep it at the right concentration levels and to keep your flowers fresh.

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Flower Food or Preservative

One of the most common ways to keep flowers fresh is to use flower preservatives to make them last longer. Most of these little packets contain everything flowers would need to stay fresh and vibrant in the vase, and are easily bought at florist shops.

If this isn’t something you can get your hands on easily, or if you’re growing flowers on your own and want something to keep the flowers fresh that you could easily find at home, keep reading for some suggestions.

Other Things to Add

  • Soda: About a quarter of a cup of soda in the water will make your flowers last longer, mainly because of the sugar inside it. If you want to keep the flowers in a clear vase, pour clear soda into the water instead of cola or any other colored soda.
  • Copper penny: Copper has the ability to turn the water slightly acidic which will keep the water from growing any bacteria that can harm the flowers and accelerate their decay.
  • Bleach: Bleach, too, has anti bacterial properties when added to your vases in small quantities.
  • Sugar: You can add sugar to the water as a nutrient for the flowers. This will make it easier for them to stay fresh.
  • Vodka: Any kind of spirit will be a good addition to the water in your vase. These liquids also have antibacterial properties which are important for your fresh flower arrangements.

Keep Them in the Fridge

Every night before going to bed, keep your flowers in the fridge for about 8 hours. The cold temperatures are going to stop the drying process, moisturize the petals, and make sure that the flowers stay fresh for as long as possible.

If done right, this will keep your flowers fresh for at least a week, and maybe even longer!

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Use Hairspray

If you use hairspray on the flowers properly, it will preserve their shape and keep them save from the elements while they’re displayed. Only use it on the visible parts of the flowers, and be careful not to overdo it.

Your best bet would be unscented hairspray for your flowers, especially if they’re already fragrant ones like roses.

Things to Keep Your Flowers Away From

Just like there are some thing that can make your flowers last longer, there are things that can make your flowers dry up quickly. Here are the things you need to keep your flowers away from:

Excessive Ventilation

Too much air circulation is just going to make it easier for your flowers to dry out.

Sunlight

The same logic applies – keeping your flowers in the sun will make them loose moisture and make them discolored.

Fruits

Ripe fruits release small amounts of ethylene gas which will make your flowers wilt and decay faster as well – if you’re displaying any flowers in your home, keep them away from fruits. This is especially important for floral arrangements that you would place on the dining table or in the kitchen.

 

Gail P
I am a beachy type of person, living in Newport Beach, and oftentimes I’ll go for a swim with my daughter. When I’m bored, I’ll help make package boxes for my little girl’s sticker company on Etsy.