CARING FOR CUT FLOWERS TO LAST LONGER

Cut flowers are a necessary luxury at StoneGable. I splurge a little but I can often get great blooms at reasonable prices around here. I want to get every last second out of cut flowers in my home. They make my soul sing! And these little creamy blush-toned spray roses bring me so much joy! With just a little care they will last a long time. I’ll show you my secrets for getting longevity out of my flowers…

 

 

Let’s give our cut flowers the longest life we can!

KNOW YOUR FLOWERS

It’s just a fact of nature, some cut flowers last longer than others. Avoid flowers that are notorious for fading fast. And go for ones that will last longer than a week.

Here are some long lasting suggestions…

  • mums
  • mini carnations
  • zinnias
  • globe amaranth
  • alstroemeria
  • daisies
  • spray roses
  • orchids

I know you might be turning your darling little noses up to a couple on this list. Too common? Make an uncommon arrangement by using one kind of flower in one color en mass as I did here. They will look gorgeous!

One flower that is almost always gracing StoneGable are mini carnations. I LOVE them.

But for today, I found all the spray roses at a local grocer’s. When I can find them do my happy dance of joy and take them right home! Joy, pure joy! 

 

 

USE A CLEAN VASE

 

Always start with a clean vase or container. Any soap, bacteria, grime etc will do bad things to flowers. Before using, even if your vase is clean give it another good scrubbing with sudsy hot water and rinse it thoroughly!

And wash your hands while you are at it. Clean hands guard against spreading bacteria!

The mercury glass cache pot was from The Pottery Barn. I have not seen it for awile, sorry!

CUT FLOWERS ON A 45% ANGLE

 

Flowers need to take up moisture to survive. And giving the stems a larger surface to drink up water is your best bet for longevity! Cut flowers at least 1/2 inch from the bottom of the stem. Better yet, cut them underwater to avoid any air bubbles that will prevent the bloom from taking up fresh water in the vase. Use a sharp knife and not a pair of scissors that might crush the stems.

Recut flowers when you change their water. Follow the tips above.

WATER AND OTHER NUTRIENTS

 

 

Add fresh water with flower food or a 1/4 cup of lemon/lime soda to a clean vase. There are lots of recipes to add to water for longer lasting flowers but studies have been done and soda or floral food float to top. Both of these really work!

Change out the water and add your add-in of choice every couple of days. And when you change the water also cut the stems of your flowers.

REMOVE LEAVES

No leaves below the water line. They cause slime and bacteria in the water. Strip all leaves that might even touch the water. And as you trim back the stems double check to see if your leaves are out of the water.

REMOVE ANY SPENT PETALS OR FLOWERS

I deadhead flowers in my arrangements! If they are spent I say off with their heads! And do the same for petals that begin to turn brown. Bacteria is a flowers worst enemy. So keep up on this tip and all other’s that might introduce any bad things to your beauties!

REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT

If you can get your flowers into the frig overnight it will significantly keep your pretty blooms looking their best. When the temperature in our garage, here at StoneGable, is above freezing and below 60 you just might find a pretty arrangement sitting on the hood of my car!

Did you ever wonder why florists keep their flowers in refrigerators? Give it a try, it really helps!

There are lots and lots of other little tips but these are the basics! Practice these tips and your flowers will thank you by giving you many days of beauty and joy!

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30 Comments

  1. I have never tried soda in my water for flowers. I am going to try that the next time I buy grocery store blooms.

    1. In all my research soda seems to be the best… and putting blooms in the frig.

  2. Love to add a big vase of white alstromeria to my after Christmas decor. They look great in a white stoneware soup tureen I have on my dining table and last forever. Boxwood or pine branches as some filler and are straight from the backyard. Welcome to flower therapy Mondays. Always a great read.

  3. Rita C at Panoply says:

    A lovely intro for your collaboration with the floral gang, Yvonne! Happy Monday.

  4. Shirley @Housepitality Designs says:

    Yvonne, as always, you bring us beauty, ideas, and lessons improving our daily lives, our homes, and our souls…..the arrangement of the gorgeous spray roses are just spectacular in that perfectly chosen mercury glass container….I have found that spray roses also dry beautifully…I often buy them just to dry them!….So lovely to have you sharing Monday Morning Blooms with us today and putting a smile on our faces to start of the day!….Have a most wonderful day Yvonne..xoxoxo’s

    1. Shirley, my friend I am so thankful you invited me to be a part of Monday Morning Blooms! THANK YOU!!!! And I agree, spray roses do dry ethereal and so pretty!

  5. Liz @ Home and Gardening With Liz says:

    Very pretty flowers Yvonne. Great advice on keeping the flowers alive a lot longer. I had someone tell me to add a little chlorine bleach to the water to kill bacteria but I never knew how much to use so I never tried it. You’ve joined a great talented group of floral designers!

  6. Yvonne, I love your posts. A couple more hints–roses will begin to scab over a fresh stem cut in about 15 seconds, so they need to go into water immediately after cutting. For hydrangeas, the petals will absorb water too. If you lightly mist the petals once or twice a day they will maintain their beauty days longer.

  7. Great tips Yvonne, I often forget to change the water, I’ve got to do better…you have made your spray roses look elegant!

  8. Hi Yvonne
    Thank you so much for adding all of these tips for longer lasting cut flowers. I owned a floral business for a number of years and included a number of these tips printed on the floral wraps. Cutting stems UNDER water is one of the most important tips the consumer can do. This means filling the sink with water…not just cutting the stem under running water. Also…the shorter the stem, the more water can get to the flower head.

  9. How nice that you have joined the group. You will be a valuable asset! I always see so many people who put flowers in a vase but don’t know about NO leaves in the water. Have a beautiful day my friend

  10. FrenchGardenHouse says:

    Yvonne, this is such a lovely bouquet, those sweetheart roses are always a delight, aren’t they? And your tips are spot on, especially the part about stripping off the leaves. So lovely to have you sharing Monday Morning Blooms with us today, this very first Monday of the new year! xo LIDY

  11. Pam Richardson says:

    Hello Yvonne, what a stunning bouquet of spray roses in the lovely mercury container. Thank you for sharing great tips for caring for cut flowers. It is a pleasure to share Monday Morning Blooms with you!

  12. Yvonne, the cache pot is available at Pottery Barn. I just received it…. Marjorie

  13. Jill Brewster says:

    Thank you for sharing these tips with us, and I will definitely try it. l always find something interesting and beautiful on your posts.

  14. Julie Briones says:

    Great tips, Yvonne! We used spray roses and mini carnations at Bitsy’s baby shower, and the arrangements actually lasted for about 3 weeks! Lovely arrangements (I got to keep a few) all over My Wee Abode for weeks! Sigh!

  15. Barbara Boothe Loyd says:

    Serendipity! I just bought miniature carnations because of their lovely mixed colors. I put them into a white vase and they will be a pretty centerpiece when my daughter and husband visit this weekend. I have never refrigerated any flower other than orchids, but I will give it a try with the carnations. Thanks for your fun and educational posts!

  16. Barbara B. says:

    Yvonne, thank you so much for sharing your tips for using fresh flowers! I had been thinking about the beautiful roses for my Valentine’s Day table…I’ll head to Kroger tomorrow to find some beautiful roses…hope they have the blush color! Of course, I KNOW they won’t last until Valentines Day but I can practice!??

    1. LOVE your attitude, Barbara! We all deserve a bunch of pretty flowers in our homes!

  17. Lovely! Thanks for the print! Can you use soda that has lost its fizz? Wondering if I could use the same soda several days later?

  18. Yvonne:

    Your blog is just beautiful. All your crafts, DIYs and decorating suggestions are always so pretty and make me want to get right on it. Your recipes sound delicious. Your blog is like a lovely magazine that keeps me reading page after page with all different content that is so useful.

    Now, I wonder: Do you ever sleep. LOL.

    1. So sweet Paula! I LOVE what I do. It’s such a joy for me to “work” every day! Thank you for noticing!And yes, I get plenty of sleep.

  19. Jeanie Gushee says:

    Yvonne, I have a different recipe for a floral additive to prevent cut flowers from fading quickly. In a clean empty jar that used to hold sauce or a large Mason jar I put:
    –2 pinches sugar
    –2 capfuls of bleach (use the cap on top of the bleach bottle to measure)
    –2 capfuls of white vinegar (use the cap of top of the vinegar bottle to measure)
    –water up to top of jar
    I keep this jar near to hand where I store my vases. I add one capful (using the jar lid as my measure) of this solution to every small vase, or 2 capfuls to a medium or large vase. When I change the water in a vase I recondition the new water with fresh solution. This sftuff feeds the flowers, prevents mildew and slime in the vase, and also balances the pH of the water in the vase (important for some types of flowers).
    I appreciate your blog a lot!—Jeanie

    1. So wonderful of you to share you recipe, Jeanie! Thank you so much! I’ll give this recipe a try!

  20. MARY-ANN (FROM CANADA!) says:

    Thanks, Yvonne, for sharing your great tips with us! Your gorgeous spray roses look so pretty in that beautiful mercury glass cache pot! Have a great day! Blessings!