Easy ways to make fresh cut flowers last longer

Fresh flowers brighten up a room. Extend your pleasure by making them last as long as possible.

First things first

Before you put your flowers in a vase, make a fresh cut across the bottom of the stems.

• Cut off about one or two inches.
• Use a sharp knife.
• Make the cut on an angle.
• Hold the stems underwater while you cut to prevent air bubble damage.

Also remove any leaves that will be below the vase’s water line.

Food, glorious food

When you get flowers delivered from a florist, they will probably come with a packet of plant food for you to add to the water to extend the lifespan of the flowers.

If you run out of the plant food, or if you never had any in the first place, the following are rumored to be good substitutes that will keep your flowers fresher longer. Add one of the following to the water in the vase:

• An aspirin
• A splash of 7-Up soda
• A pinch of sugar

Cut flowers don’t like the heat!

Be nice to your flowers and keep them cool. Don’t put them in direct sunlight, and don’t place them near heaters or on top of radiators or heat-generating appliances like televisions.

Don’t just plunk them in a vase and forget about them

Change the water every few days, replacing the old water with cool clean water. Recut the stems, as described above. Put in some more of your plant food or your plant food substitute.

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