While Marilyn Monroe may have pronounced diamonds as a girl’s best friend, I’m pretty darn partial to the petaled sorts of gems myself.

Who doesn’t love getting a fabulous bouquet of flowers for a special event or (even better) ‘just because’?  Or for that matter, who doesn’t love picking or cutting flowers for themselves to add a little pizzaz to a room or a bit of color to a gloomy afternoon.

Whether you have a ‘black thumb’ or kick major gardening ass, it can be a challenge keeping your precious cut flower masterpieces alive and perky.  Let’s take a peek at some tips on keeping your flora looking as fab as the day you first admired them.

The main points you need to keep in mind when watching over your blooming buddies is the importance of keeping your flowers hydrated and keeping them well fed with nice sweet stuff (and no, you don’t have to share your dark chocolate – I promise). 

Start off on the right foot – water and all…

• Be sure to wash your vase out with hot water and antibacterial soap – you want things as clean as can be to welcome your rather sensitive artist-type flowers (I kid) into their new home.
• Remove all extra leaves and foliage from your bouquet before getting to work – what looks swell in the store might really suck in a vase.  Be ruthless.
• Using garden shears, cut your flower stems at an angle under running lukewarm water – this will help you maximize your stem surface area to soak up that water and eliminate air bubbles that might inhibit happy water drinking.
• Avoid using softened water to fill up your vase, your bouquet won’t be too happy soaking in sodium-filled water
• Stick to lukewarm water for most cut flowers
• Fill up on cold water for bulb flowers (like tulips and daffodils)
• Cover your stems with 3-4 inches of water

Location, location, location

• Avoid the heat – this means overly warm rooms, television sets, heaters and direct sunlight.  Flowers no-likey.  Keep it cool, yo.
• Don’t place your flowers near fruit, the gas they emit causes your flowers to go downhill fast

Random things to put in your flower water (that actually work!)

• Vodka – not only is it my favorite alcoholic beverage, it’s great for keeping bacteria from growing in your water and killing your buds!  Add a glug of vodka and a teaspoon of sugar to your water each time you change it.
• Bleach – yeah, weird right?  Add 1/4 teaspoon of bleach to 1 quart of water and a teaspoon of sugar to keep flowers fresh and your water clear and clean.
• Sugar – your flowers really dig sugar to help open up buds and stay feeling (and looking) invigorated.  Try using a few glugs of lemon lime soda in your vase (along with some bleach to keep things clean and clear) and see how perkier you stay. 
• Penny power – drop in a penny or two in your water to benefit from the oxidization process that helps kick pesky algae in the butt.  Florally speaking, of course. 

Keep up the good work

• Give your  the tips of your flower stems a good trim every few days to keep things healthy and groovy.
• Got pollen?  Give your flower stamens a snip if they start shedding pollen all over your favorite table cloth.  
• Try spritzing your bouquets with a (little) bit of hairspray – just like it keeps your wayward wisps of hair in place, a spray or two can help your flowers keep their shape too.
• Get rid of those wilting and dying flowers – not only will it keep your bouquet lasting longer, it will also give your bouquet a different look and style.  Sometimes I specifically select flowers with varying life spans so it feels like I have multiple bouquets in one.  Here are some of the longer lasting flowers:
  • Chrysanthemums
  • Carnations
  • Dahlias
  • Gerber Daisies
  • Orchids
  • Lillies (depending on the variety)
  • Sunflowers
  • Baby’s breath

Related posts:

1. Flower Arrangements
2. A Flower Box Centerpiece