5 (More) Ways to Make Cut Flowers Last
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(Image credit: Nicole Crowder)
If you’ve been reading Apartment Therapy for a while, you know we’re big advocates of keeping fresh flowers in your home. Here are a few more tips for making them last, whether they’re freshly picked or a favorite flower that you buy all the time.
- Put freshly picked flowers in water immediately and leave them for at least 5 hours before arranging them, a process calling conditioning.
- If your flowers come from your garden and not from the florist, make your own preservative, like this one from One Good thing by Jillee.
- Alternatively, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water and stir. The vinegar will help prevent the growth of bacteria.
- If you have a favorite flower you use often, look online for a flower-specific tips. For example, hydrangeas last longer if you gently smash the end of each stem and immerse them in ice water before arranging. Hollow-stemmed flowers like delphiniums do well if you turn the flowers upside down, fill the stems with water, and seal them with a wet cotton ball before arranging. Poppies, and other flowers that ooze sap, last longer if you first immerse the bottom 2 inches of their stems in boiling water for 10 seconds.
- Have a gunky, narrow-necked vase that’s hard to clean? Try this tip from Real Simple: fill it with crushed shells from hardboiled eggs, a drop of dishwashing soap, and warm water, and swirl. Rinse thoroughly with hot water, and the next arrangement you put in will last a bit longer.
Even More Flower Longevity Tips:
• 10 Ways to Make your Flowers Last Longer
(Image: Nicole Crowder/Alex & Alina’s Lovingly Layered Home)