You’ve had the problem numerous times before, haven’t you? 

You admire your new flowers for a couple of days, before you see the stems starting to droop. Petals gather in a circle around your vase. Brown patches appear in small places, before quickly taking over. 

In what seems like hours, the bouquet that once stood proudly on your dining room table is now rotting in your bin.

You want the most out of your bouquet. And while the quality of the flowers you buy has a huge impact (at Anther Flowers, we guarantee your flowers will stay fresh for at least five days), if you follow the below advice, your flowers will stay fresh for longer.

Here’s our top 5 tips of how to make flowers last longer:

1) Cut the Stems

This may sound simple, but it’s surprising how many people do it incorrectly. Think back to when you last bought a bouquet, how did you do it? 

Where on the stem did you cut? Did you cut the stem once and then leave it? How did you cut it? Did you even cut it?

Here’s three things to remember when cutting the stem: 

1)   Cut at a 45-degree angle. Stems are thirsty, and this exposes the maximum surface area for the stem to take in water.

2)   Put your old scissors away. Blunt sheers or scissors can crush the stem, so use something really sharp.

3)   Cut the stem again once every few days. This helps your flowers draw more water.

2) Fill the Vase with Water

Are you filling your vase with water properly?

Again, it might sound obvious, but we bet you’ve been doing it wrong. 

You know flowers need water, but if you want your flowers to last a long time, there’s more to it than that:

1)   Clean your vase thoroughly before use. It’s important there’s no lingering bacteria.

2)   Before you put your flowers in, let the water in your vase come up to room temperature. Flowers take warm water easier than when it’s cold, so it’s important that it’s warm for their first gulp. 

3)   Fill your vase with enough water.Woody stemmed flowers (like roses) need the vase to be filled 2/3 full, while soft stemmed flowers (like tulips) require less water. Remember to replace the water every few days.

3) Keep Your Flowers in the Right Place



Direct sunlight is bad for flowers

Do you have your typical flower-spot in the house? Where is it? While your flowers may look great there, it may not be the best place for your flowers to live. With a few adjustments, your flowers will last longer:

1)   Keep your bouquet away from radiators, air conditioning, fans, heaters and fires. Flowers need to be kept at amild temperature.

2)   Keep your flowers out of any drafts in your home. The breeze can cause the petals to fall.

3)   Keep your flowers away from fresh fruit. Fruit produces ethylene gas, which causes flowers to quickly deteriorate.

4)   Flowers like the shade. Keep them out of direct sunlightas much as possible. If you’re putting them on a window sill, remember the glass will get really hot during the day and get really cold at night, which the flowers won’t like.

5)   Keep them where your pets can’t get to them. Some flowers are poisonous to animals, such as Geranium, Lily and Daffodils.

4) Use the Flower Food We Include in Your Bouquet

It isn’t for show. It actually works. The pack contains sugars, acids and bleach, which have three main purposes:

1)   To feed the flower

2)   To fight against the build of algae, bacteria and fungi in the water

3)   To maintain the pH level of the water.

Have you thrown away the sachet by accident? Don’t worry, there are a variety of homemade solutions you can use. Most use household ingredients like water, lemon juice and bleach.

5) Prune

Our last tip is perhaps our easiest. Again, we touch on this in our introduction to flower arranging article, but we’ll talk about it more specifically here in terms of prolonging the life of your bouquet. There are only two main things to remember:

1)   Trim any leaves below the water line.

2)   Cut away any deadhead flowers immediately.

 

They’re our five top tips for making your flowers last longer. 

So, why don’t you put your new knowledge into practice? Visit our online storenow to buy your next bouquet? Let us know how you get on by sending your pictures to hello@antherflowers.com or tag us on Instagram with the hashtag XXX.

Anther Flowers Admin