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Cut flower tips

Filed under: — admin @ 5:24 pm


Long-lasting Cut flower tips:

Nowadays cut flowers can be bought just about anywhere. Their quality and longevity depends on the care they receive from the moment they leave to grower to the time they are displayed at their final destination.

mix flowers

Here are some tips to help you get the maximum life span of any cut flowers.

1. Add a floral preservative such Crysal, Floralife to a clean vase and fill half way with tepid water. If you don’t have any make your own 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp bleach, 2 tsps. lemon juice to 1 qt. of lukewarm water.

2. With a sharp knife or clippers recut 1-2 inches off the bottom of the stem and place immediately in tepid water. The preferred way is to cut the stems under water.

3. Remove any foliage that will be underwater. Deteriorating leaves can generate more bacteria shortening your flower life.

4. Check the water level and be sure all stems are in water. Add more water when needed. Change the water and recut the stems every 3-5 days. If it gets cloudy change more often.

5. Display your flowers away from direct sun, heating vents or cold drafts.

6. Store your flowers in a cool room and cover them with a plastic bag to increase humidity. You can also store them in a refrigerator at temperatures of 40-50 degrees but be sure that you don’t have any fruit or vegetables that can emit ethylene gas causing them to wilt or die rapidly.

When you purchase your flowers don’t store them in too hot or too cold temperatures.
Some flowers may have a discoloration at the bottom of the stem, this indicates that the flower underwent a pre-treatment by the grower to further extend vaselife. It is not a disease.

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11 Comments on Cut flower tips»

  1. I recently received a bouquet of Gerber Daisies that lasted about 1 day before dying. I don’t like the thought of these going to complete waste. I’d like to save the seeds and plant them. I’ve heard of drying flowers and saving the seeds. Any tips for me to salvage the seeds and plant?
    Thanks!

    If this is a cut flower bouquet chances are that the flower was picked before it could mature enough to develop seeds. If you have a fuzzy center on one of your flowers then there is a slight chance of seeds. You can plant them pointed end down, it takes 15-25 days to germinate. It takes 6 months from germination to blooming. See the article on Gerbera

    Comment by AMF — 6/10/2006 @ 5:32 pm

  2. For cut flowers for the table.I bought some hydrangea flowers and they went droppy. Is there anything I can do to bring them back. Also from my garden when I cut some from my hydrangea bust, what can I do to keep them looking full and nice. One more question; and if I want to dry them, what is the best thing to do.
    Thanks Corinne

    Cut flowers early in the day. Try recutting them when they are drooping. For drying hydrangea, timing is important. Softly squeeze the flower and feel for a slight papery resistance, check all florets then cut and place in a vase and let dry. Another method is to cut the flowers place in a vase with 1/2 of water and let the flower absorb the water and then allow it to dry.

    Comment by Corinne — 12/13/2006 @ 5:29 pm

  3. Any tips on keeping cut lilacs from drooping after only about 1 day?

    Cut lilac have a longevity of 3-5 days at best. Cut half open flowers just above a leaf node early in the day. Fill your vase with luke warm water and add a floral preservative, remove any any lower leaves that will be in water and then recut your lilac stems (if possible under water) at a 45 degree angle. Place immediately into the vase and keep in a cool spot away from direct sunlight. Research has found that smashing the stems of lilacs can destroy the cells that take up the water and therefore is not recommended. Hope this helps. Kris

    Comment by Anne — 12/13/2006 @ 5:34 pm

  4. I cut my lilac yesterday and they are already drooping. I don’t have any preservative. Is there something else I can use in the water.

    Here’s a recipe 1 tsp. sugar, 1tsp bleach, 2tsps. lemon juice to 1 qt. of lukewarm water. for fresh flower preservative. Cut flowers early in the morning and have a bucket of water ready. I know I mentioned not smashing the stem but try splitting the stem with a knife to keep the vascular tissue intact and give more area for water absorption.

    Comment by Chelsey — 12/13/2006 @ 5:37 pm

  5. My daughter is doing a science fair project on keeping cut flowers alive longer. We had six glasses: the ones that did the best were the plain water (oddly enough), the one with vodka (1 tbsp. - but it never opened up, preserved in bud-state.), and Jerry Baker’s tip of corn syrup (1 tbsp.) and pinch of clorox. My question is why did the vodka and clorox preserve the flowers? Can you answer in layman’s terms (for elementary 5th grade project.) The glass was a 16 oz. and we will be repeating the experiment, so should we try less vodka this time?

    In order for buds to open, they must have a gerimicide (clorox) and sugar along with warm temperatures 70-80F and high light, with moderate humidity. To preserve cut flowers you need to provide sugar, bactericide and acidify the solution (lower the ph). The vodka may have all three properties-( try less in the next experiment) but you may not have provided the other environmental factors (temp.light & humidity). All variables have to be the same in an experiment when you’re comparing one to the other. Sometimes it could just be the flower and the pre-condition it was in, so a re-do is a good idea. Let me know what happens. Kris

    Comment by Lisa Foley — 1/10/2007 @ 4:04 pm

  6. I wanted to know if there is a way to dry or perserve a wedding bouquet of gerbera daisies. I have been told by some the you can not dry gerbera daisies like you can other flowers. I would really like to keep my bouquet in tact. Thanks.

    Gerbera’s will not dry well. You will loose the color in the drying process. One way of preserving flowers which can be costly is to freeze dry them. Special drying equipment is used to dry flowers. I know they have had good results in preserving roses, but I don’t know about Gerbera. Try googling preserving/drying flowers perhaps there is someone in your area that does this sort of preservation

    Comment by Joi — 1/23/2007 @ 4:19 pm

  7. My daughter is getting married in late September and wants her flowers to be Gerber Daisies. If I plant them myself, how can I guarantee that I will have flowers for the wedding?
    I don’t have the greenest of thumbs!
    Thank you!

    I think you should leave it up to the experts to grow the gerbera daisies for her bouquet. You can run into all kinds of problems not under your control during the growing season that would not guarantee the best flowers. Plant them and plan on using them as extras, but plan on buying gerberas for her bouquet.

    Comment by Judi — 7/17/2007 @ 3:48 pm

  8. The long stems of my Gerbera bent and looked a bit wilted. I slit drinking straws lengthwise and wrapped around the stems. Now they stand up straight and looking beautiful

    Comment by Alice S. — 1/15/2008 @ 3:11 pm

  9. I am just starting to garden and would like some suggestion on what to plant. I want to plant a cut flower garden. I live in zone 17 and have a12 foot square area to garden. It has a south west exposure. Thank you very much for any help you can give me. Suzanne

    Hi Suzanne
    You can grow lots of cut flowers in zone 17 (S.F?) especially with a southern exposure. Look for plants that like full sun such as alstroemeria,cosmos, delphinium, dianthus, geraniums, gerbera, liatris, snapdragons, zinnia etc. What you need to do is pick out your favorite flowers. A garden center should have a good selection fo plants that do well in your area.Grow plants with varying heights and shapes make great cut flower bouquets. Also choose staggering bloom times so that you will have something in bloom all season long. Plant perennials (ones that come back each year) and annuals. Plant the taller growing plants in back of the flower bed and shorter ones up front so that they don’t get shaded. So when you go to buy your plants check for 1. Sun exposure 2. Height (tall, low growing)& shape 3. bloom time 4. hardiness. Another important factor is to make is to make sure the soil is well drained to allow for good root development. Add compost or organic material if needed. Try all kinds of flowers and see what works best for you. As with most gardens it is a never ending experiment.

    Comment by Suzanne — 2/26/2008 @ 4:20 pm

  10. I was wondering if you could tell me what the best way to care for cut stargazer lilies. I was told you have to take the center out of them but i am not sure. I would appreciate any feedback you could give.
    Thanks
    Your site is very helpful and informative. I have bookmarked you for all my future needs.

    Place your cut flowers in cool water with some floral preservative. To keep stargazer lilies longer you should remove the anther(male part of the plant)with the yellow pollen on it. Leaving it on shortens the life span of the flower. This is done with most lilies. Take care not to get the pollen on your clothes as it will stain. If you do, brush it off with a dry paper towel, that should remove most of it.

    Comment by Kris — 3/27/2008 @ 7:29 am

  11. I used ginger in a flower arrangement and the next day it started turning a dark burgundy. And just got darker from there. When I was arranging it, I had cut it. Could that have been the problem? Because I have seen shorter stemmed arrangements where the ginger must have been cut. What did I do wrong?

    Hi Amanda,
    Cutting the ginger stem would not have caused it to turn dk burgundy. Most likely, it was caused by improper storage such as too cold. This tropical flower needs to be stored at 50-55F. Another possiblity was that it was exposedf the ethylene gas from fruits & vegetables or just past its prime.

    Comment by Amanda — 4/7/2008 @ 12:07 am

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