Five Ways to Make Flowers Last Longer

Reports show that Gen X and millennials are more likely to purchase flower bouquets than boomers. These buyers are also more likely to buy non-flower gifts with their bouquets.

It is estimated that cut flowers only last 7 to 12 days. If you want to make flowers last longer, there are several ways that you can go about doing this.

Buying flowers is an investment, and you want to get the most out of it. High-quality flower arrangements are not cheap, and if they are a gift, you want to enjoy them for as long as possible.

Keep reading to find out how to make flowers last longer.

1. Trim the Flower Foliage

One of the top tips to extend your flowers’ lifespan is to keep the foliage trimmed. You will want to look at each individual flower and trim any foliage that is on the stem.

Many cut flowers will have smaller stems or leaves attached that will be submerged in the water. This is not what you want since this encourages microbial growth.

These small bits of foliage also take away from the stem's ability to absorb water. This means that the flower itself may not be getting the amount of water that it needs even when submerged.

These stems and leaves will often start to rot after 1 to 2 days of being submerged. Not only is this bad for the flowers, it means you will have to change the water much more frequently.

2. Use a Clean Vase

To lengthen a flowers’ life a bit longer, you should use a clean vase. This isn’t necessary if your flower arrangement comes with its own vase or pot.

If you have bought fresh-cut flowers all on their own, you will need to put them in something to keep them hydrated. Make sure you clean the vase out with soap and hot water to remove any bacteria.

If you want to keep flowers healthy, everything needs to be clean. This is something that many people neglect because they think clean water is what is most important.

Any residue or bacteria left in the vase will start to breed and contaminate the water over time.

3. Rearrange as Necessary

Something you should do daily is look at your flower arrangement and rearrange it as necessary. Flowers dying quickly can pose a risk to the entire bouquet.

It is very normal for certain types of flowers to wilt faster than others. You should look through your bouquet and pick these wilted flowers out every day so that the rest are able to stay fresh.

If your bouquet starts to become much smaller, you can always move it to a smaller vase. The most important thing is to not let wilted flowers take up room and nutrition from the healthy flowers.

You can also remove dead petals from flowers that are still relatively healthy. You can slow down the wilting process by keeping these dead petals from infecting the rest of the flower.

4. Use Fresh Water

Flowers dying too fast can be a sign that your water is not fresh enough. Flowers absorb a lot more water than you may have thought they did, as this keeps them healthy and vibrant.

If you want to make flowers last longer, you should refresh the water every few days. Water that is cloudy or discolored is a sign that it is dirty and could contaminate the flowers.

There should also be several inches of water at all times, if it gets too low, the flowers may not get the moisture that they need. The water should be room temperature, and you should trim the bottom of the flowers.

If possible, it is always a good idea to add commercial flower food to the water. This mixture usually contains sugar, antimicrobial agents, and a PH acidifier to keep your flowers healthy and in full bloom.

5. Keep Them Cool

Flowers don’t do well in very warm climates or indirect sunlight once they have been cut. If you want your flowers to last longer, you should try to keep them in a balanced environment.

The ideal temperature would be a fridge-rated space, but that is not usually possible if you want to display the flowers. Because of this, you can keep your flowers in the coolest part of your home instead.

Avoid putting flowers in your kitchen since this is a high-heat area. You should also keep them away from windows and sunlight so that they do not overheat and dry out.

It is also ideal if there is a relatively high amount of humidity in the room.

6. Use Vodka

A little-known fact is that vodka can help to impede the production of ethylene gas. This is a type of gas that flowers naturally produce that results in them wilting faster.

You can help to delay this by adding a very small amount of pure vodka to the water.

7. Separate Flowers

There are some more harmful species of flowers that can impact the other flowers in your bouquet. Some more toxic flowers include irises and daffodils, which produce toxic chemicals.

These chemicals are bleached into the water and absorbed by the surrounding flowers. This can result in the other flowers and your arrangement beginning to die much faster.

You can avoid having this happen by removing these flowers and adding them to their own ways.

How to Make Flowers Last Longer

If you enjoy buying fresh flowers, you may be wondering how to make flowers last longer. This is a common issue that people have since cut flowers don’t have a very long lifespan.

Do you want to buy a beautiful flower bouquet? Contact us today at Best Buds Flower Co. to choose a flower bouquet.