How to Keep Your Delivered Flowers Looking Fresh

It’s always a great surprise to open the door and find that someone has sent you a fresh bouquet of flowers. No matter what the reason, you want to make sure your delivered flowers look great for as long as possible. But how do you keep them looking fresh for more than a few days? Here are some helpful hints and tips.

• For many cut flowers, add lukewarm water. For flowers that come from bulbs, like tulips or daffodils, use cold water.

• If you receive a bouquet that is not in a vase, cut the stems at an angle before putting them in water. If you’ve received a box of roses or carnations, cut the stems under water so no air plugs up the stem.

• Completely change all water every two days. This is one of the most effective things to keep your delivered flowers fresh.

• While you may think keeping flowers in direct sunlight is good, it actually isn’t. Keep them in indirect light.

• Flowers in a cooler area last longer, so keep your arrangements away from heat sources.

• Don’t fill up the entire vase. Stems that are completely submerged will start to decay more quickly.

• Do not place your bouquet near fruit. Most fruits actually give off a specific gas that makes flowers wilt.

• Add some plant food to the water. Just a bit of plant food can keep your bouquets perky and fresh. If you don’t want to use chemicals, you can search the internet for natural plant food recipes.

There are some interesting home remedies that supposedly help keep flowers fresh. Do they really work? No one is really quite certain, but you can give them a try. These alternatives won’t hurt your flowers, so there’s no harm in trying them.

• Add an aspirin tablet and a penny to the vase. The aspirin is supposed to make the water acidic, while the copper works as a fungicide.

• Add two ounces of mouthwash per every gallon of water.

• Add two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, half a teaspoon of bleach, and a tablespoon of sugar to a quart of water.

• Mix one part of lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite) to three parts of water. Then add a fourth teaspoon of bleach. Every four days, add another fourth teaspoon of bleach to the mixture.