Tips for Making Fresh Flowers Last

 

I love having fresh flowers around the home for a number of reasons. Their subtle aroma and delicate beauty add so much to the home, and when you don’t have a yard or outdoor space, it is a small way to bring the outdoors in for a mini garden moment.

In my last post I shared a gorgeous arrangement Will sent to me for our ten year anniversary, and it is truly my all-time favorite arrangement I’ve ever gotten! It even introduced me to some new floral varieties that catapulted to my new personal favorites list! I’ve made sure to make it last as long as possible, and have successfully managed to get over a week (and counting!) out of them.

 

 

Here are my tried-and-true tips for getting the most out of beautiful blooms:

Process them correctly

Trim the ends of your flower stems at a 45 degree angle and trim off any leaves or parts of the foliage that will be submerged in water once you place them in a vase.

Trimming at that angle maximizes the stem’s ability to absorb water. Having foliage or leaves submerged in the water generally causes rot. It can get gross and swampy FAST in a vase, which will shorten the life of your blooms – so make sure the just have stem legs in the water.

 

Place in room-temperature water

Contrary to popular belief, plants don’t love ice cold water, and I’ve found more success with using tepid water. In fact, hydrangeas in particular love hot water! (hot tip: when hydrangeas prematurely wilt, placing them in boiling water for an hour usually revives them)

 

Refresh water every other day

Dump the old water and put fresh water in your vessels often: I usually do every other day though every day is even better.

To go the extra mile, you can also trim the stems every few days– they callous (almost like a scar tissue), and trimming refresh their water absorption capabilities. I’m usually too lazy for this, but I do trim stems in my next step…

 

Separate Flowers into Smaller Arrangements

As some of the individual stems start to wilt and die, don’t throw out the whole arrangement! Instead, pull out those that still seam to be doing well, re-process them, and place in smaller arrangements to scatter around the home.

Any arrangement will have some filler components, like plain foliage, delphiniums, etc., and these tend to have a much longer “shelf life” and I love them on their own!

After about 4 days, some flowers from the original arrangement were past their prime, so separating them out into these 5 smaller arrangements (as shown in all these photos) has made them last several mores days!

 

 

And frankly, while I love a big, lush arrangement, you should never underestimate the beauty of a mini bud vase sitting on a bathroom counter, nightstand, or next to the kitchen sink to make your home lovelier and more joyful.

 

Now go forth and enjoy your blooms!

xx

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