Tips Caring for Cut Flowers

Whether you've cut them in your garden or picked them up at the florist's, your flowers will keep their fresh beauty longer if you follow these tips:

Nowadays fresh cut flowers are not just for special occasions; they are everyday attractive, economical additions for the home or office.  They lend texture and color to any room's decor, which is why decorators plan for them as much as they would a piece of furniture.  The following provides simple care and treatment guidelines from American Florists Marketing Council to ensure that the flowers you gather from your gardens or buy at the florist will last a long time.

• When you buy flowers, look for those with petals slightly turned up toward a tight center - since this is an indications of youth.  Flowers whose petals are turned down have already passed their peak.

• When you go out to the garden to cut flowers, bring along a pail of lukewarm water.  Plunge flowers in it as you cut.

• Before arranging, it's best to condition your flowers.  Do this by placing them loosely in a large container of water - an old pitcher will do - so that air can circulate among them.  Leave the flowers, preferable in the dark, for at least two or three hours or even overnight.

• Once you get the flowers in the house, re-cut the stems under water on a slant.  When flowers have been out of water, even for a short time (such as traveling from the florist to office) their stems seal off and become dry; re-cutting the stems enables your flowers to once again drink water.  If you don't cut them under water - either in a bowl or under a running tap - the stems will draw in air and an air bubble inside the stem will prevent the flower head from getting water.  (This is why you sometimes see flower heads tipped over and wilted - and especially tulips).  When cutting, always use a sharp knife or scissors and cut the stems on a slant, so the water-conducting cells will be exposed even when the stems are resting on the bottom of a container.

• Use a clean vase, washed in a solution of white vinegar or ammonia and water (both are particularly effective in cutting the bacteria film that often builds up in a vase.)

• Remove all the leaves (and thorns) that would be below the vase's water level.  If the foliage is not removed bacteria forms. 

• Fill the vase with lukewarm water; very hot or cold water can actually shock them!  You can extend the life of your flowers by adding floral preservative to the water, since the chemical agent in it allows the stem's intake mechanism to remain open.  Floral preservative also helps retard the growth of bacteria. 

• If you're arranging flowers using florist's foam, soak the foam in water with preservative added before placing in the vase.

• Place your finished arrangement in a cool, airy, draft-free area.  Keep flowers away from sources of heat, such as sunny windows, lamps, and fireplaces, as this causes the petals to lose moisture.

• Add fresh water to your flowers every day.  Then sit back and enjoy their beauty for what should be a long time.