We all love receiving flowers! They are the perfect reminder that we are cared for and loved. The more we care for our gifted flowers, the longer they will continue to bring joy into our homes. Here are some tips from our florist that will help elongate the life of your flower arrangements.
1) Clean Water
Flowers thrive with clean water; therefore, water should be changed quite often. During hot seasons, it is recommended to change your vase's water every 1-2 days -- feel free to add some ice cubes in the vase to refresh your blooms on notoriously hot SoCal days. During colder seasons, it is important to change the water of a vase every 2-3 days.
2) Food
Like any living organism, fresh flowers require some nutrients to remain lively and beautiful. With every arrangement, you will find one (or a few) packets of plant food. This nutrient helps maintain the integrity of your flowers and helps keep the water cleaner longer. To use, first fill your vase with fresh water (enough to cover all stems), pour in the envelope, stir, and finally add in your blooms!
3) Light
While light is very important to all plant life, direct sunlight is not recommended for cut-and-prepped flowers. To keep flowers beautiful, they should be placed in a bright area that is not exposed to direct sunlight (not next to a window) in order to prevent heat to be retained inside the vase.
4) Temperature
Ideally, flowers thrive at temperatures below 75F. However, in SoCal, this perfect climate is not always possible. If possible, place your vase in the coolest part of your home and add ice cubes to the vase if the weather calls for it. Temperature may affect the length of your arrangement's life and may mean that summer arrangements may not last as long as winter arrangements. With temperature precautions taken, it is possible to hold on to your gorgeous summer arrangements for weeks.
5) Trimming Dead Ends
Upon receiving your arrangement, flower stems will be freshly cut to ensure the most water absorption. Much like other organisms, cut flowers begin "scarring" which will leave the head of the flower without a much-needed water supply. Stems should be trimmed every couple of days. When you trim stems when you change the water in the vase a few days later, you remove tissue at the tips that may be breaking down and once again expose fresh tissue that absorbs more water.
Try these tips and watch how your arrangements will bring you happiness for much longer.