How to Keep Your Flowers Alive and Fresh for Longer

Online flower delivery services have made buying flowers so much easier and convenient for us. But spending hundreds of dollars on beautiful flowers and then throwing them away after a few days feels terrible, right? As flower lovers, all of us might have wondered at some point about how to elongate the shelf life of flowers.

Well, here’s the answer. Keep reading to know more about how to keep fresh flowers alive longer in a vase.

Steps to keep flowers fresh for longer

When it comes to preserving fresh flowers in a vase or some other kind of vessel, there are many tried and tested formulas that work well. And all of them begin with the right start. Before you place your flowers in a vase for the first time, make sure you do these steps.

At the beginning

1. Cut them the right way

In case of precut flowers (that you get from online flower delivery or store, and are ready to be put on vase), take a flower stem and cut a little bit from the stem portion at a 45° angle. This will increase the open surface area of the stem and the flower will absorb more water through it. Instead of cutting them altogether, cutting each of them individually will reduce the risk of damage and give a smoother cut. You are also advised to remove any leaves that go below the water level. Otherwise, they will rot and might result in bacterial infection, which will reduce the life of the flower. After cutting, don’t leave the flowers dry for too long. Place them in water immediately. Also, make sure your online flower delivery company is dispatching your flowers from a nearby location. That will reduce the risk of in-transit damage. Premium online flowers delivery services like Snap Blooms has local flower shops as partners in every city which helps reducing the delivery time and also the risk of receiving damaged flowers.

2. Choose the correct vase

While choosing a vase, you should pay attention to the height of the vase. The ideal height should be just a few cm longer than the height of the flowers. However, if you have a smaller vase, you can trim the stem accordingly.

The opening of the vase should also be at par with the volume of the bouquet. If it is too narrow, the flowers will get squished. If it’s too wide, the bouquet will lose its shape and it will look bad.

3. Choose the ideal place for display

Choose a relatively colder place in your room to display the flower vase. You must keep the vase away from direct sunlight or the flowers will dry up very fast. Also avoid placing flowers near fruits, or fruit baskets. The ethylene from fruits damages flowers.

4. Mind the water temperature

Flowers stay fresh longer in cold water. However, water slightly warmer than room temperature helps them bloom faster. So, if you want your flowers to bloom immediately, then first place them in warm (not hot) water for a few hours. once they bloom fully, immediately replace the water with cold water.

Maintain regularly

Replace water every other day

If you want to keep your flowers fresh for longer, then you need to replace the water every other day. The ideal time to do this is in the early mornings when the temperature is low. First, take the flowers out from the vase and place them in a bucket of water. Don’t leave them dry. Then, throw away the old water and clean the insides of the vase well with plain water. Next, add fresh cold water in the vase and replace all the flowers.

1. Add flower food

To maintain the flower health and increase its life, you can also add flower food in the water. There are various types of flower foods available in the market that you can use. Or you can also try home remedies like sugar, soda, or vodka. Studies show that these additives also help in increasing the life of flowers. Online flower delivery services also sell flower foods. If you’re getting flower delivery online, you can also order flower food at the same time.

2. Refrigerate at night

Another useful way of elongating the life of the flowers is placing them in the refrigerator. You should do this at nights and keep them inside for at least 8 hours at a stretch. Make sure that the top of the flower bouquet doesn’t get squished when you put them inside the fridge. Do this every night and take them out in the mornings. You’ll be amazed to see how long your flowers are staying super fresh!

3. Prune regularly

Another helpful measure to improve your flower’s shelf life is to prune the flowers regularly. Cut the stem of the flowers at 45° angle once in every 2-3 days. This will help the roots to avoid rotting or getting any bacterial infections, and also enable the flower to absorb more water. You should also remove any rotting leaves or wilting petals from the flowers.

So, these are the best ways to keep your flowers fresh and lively for longer. Hope these simple tips will prove to be helpful for you.