Keep cut flowers longer

When you are offered a beautiful bouquet, or when you just picked his favorite flowers in the garden, we want them to last as long as possible! How to extend the life of cut flowers? Here are some tips for bouquets that stay beautiful long.

Pick the flowers at the right time to keep them longer.

To hope to keep the cut flowers longer, they must be picked at the right time: preferably in the morning or in the evening, in the cool, but not during the day, especially in hot and sunny weather. Flowers picked at a time when the plant suffers from heat would not last as long as they would be thirsty even before being put in a vase.

On the other hand, early in the morning, they are perfectly fresh because the roots have had all night to draw from the soil the water necessary for the hydration of plant tissues.

The flowering stage is also important. Picked too early, when the button is still closed, the flowers would not open (deprived of nutrients, they would not succeed in blooming their petals). Picked too late (petals that begin to fade, soften or brown at the ends), they would hold less and fade too quickly. The right moment, for many flowers, is between the flower bud stage just ajar and that of the full bloom of the flower, when the petals are still tight, well colored and fleshy.

If you do not make the bouquet right away, make the flowers (and the foliage plants) wait by soaking the stems in a bucket of fresh water before putting them in the vase.

If you need to transport your flowers before putting them in a vase, install them in the shade, flat, making sure that the most fragile are not crushed by the weight of others. Avoid any source of heat, as well as the rear window of the car: the flowers, exposed to the sun, would wilt quickly. In case of prolonged journey, for example by car, wrap them (not forgetting the base of the stems) in paper towel soaked in water, all wrapped in food film or aluminum foil.
10 tips for a long-lasting bouquet

Clean your vase carefully and do not hesitate to rinse it with water and bleach to destroy micro-organisms.
Whether your flowers come from the florist or the garden, shorten the stems by 2 cm before putting them in vase, using a pruning shears (if not, a sharp knife, but avoid scissors that tend to crush the stems) ; cut at an angle to increase the absorption area. Ideally, make this cut under a trickle of water to avoid the formation of air bubbles in the vessels of the stem.
For flowering shrub flowers with woody twigs (eg lilac), split the stem lengthwise or crush it with a hammer to promote water penetration.
Remove any leaves that may soak in water.
Fill the vase with tap water at room temperature, possibly with added nutritious powder (often offered by the florist) or a solution for storing cut flowers, bought in a garden center. You can also do like our grandmothers, who added a pinch of sugar or baking soda to the water.
Quantity of water: some flowers, such as tulips or gerberas, do not like their stem to be immersed: just put a little water in the bottom of the vase (about 5 cm) and fill the level regularly. For other flowers, including roses, fill the vase to immerse two thirds of the height of the stems.

Install the vase away from the sun, drafts and heat, and away from the fruits (some of them produce ethylene which decreases the life of the flowers). At night, place it in a cool room if possible.
Every 2 days, cut the end of the stems about 1.5 cm, always at an angle, because a plug tends to form at the cutoff point, which hinders the water supply of the flower. Take the opportunity to rinse the stems.
Change the water in the vase every day, as the proliferation of bacteria in the water causes the stems to rot prematurely.

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