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Cut-Flower Care

Prolong the beauty of your bouquets. Master gardener Paul James explains how.

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  • The flowers at your local florist may look as though they were just picked, but many of them were actually cut days ago, then moved thousands of miles, and possibly stored in a warehouse for a few more days.

  • The goal of growers and florists is to figure out ways to extend the life of cut flowers. They spend millions of dollars on research aimed at finding out just how to do that. But once the flowers leave the florist, it's up to you to keep them looking good. Master gardener Paul James explains how:

  • Don't buy cut flowers early in the day and then leave them in your car while you go shopping or run errands. Instead, go straight home.

  • When you do get home, if you're not quite ready to put the flowers in a vase, then stick them in the refrigerator, but only if you don't have any fruit in the fridge. If you do have fruit in the fridge, place a layer of ice in a cooler, place a towel over the ice, and place the flowers on the towel.

  • When you are ready to arrange your flowers, the most important thing you should do is give the stems a fresh cut. The calloused ends of cut flowers won't absorb water as readily as those with a fresh cut and won't last nearly as long.

  • Working quickly, place a stem next to the vase and strip any leaves that would actually be submerged in the water. (Underwater leaves cause the growth of harmful bacteria that shorten the flowers' life.) Place the flowers in a vase or other container filled with cool water, and put them in a cool, dimly lit area. Heat and bright light are the enemies of cut flowers. Both will cause them to fade faster. And remember, heat can come from such things as the television set, so never put flowers on top of the TV.

  • Although the dining room table may be your favorite spot for flowers, it may not be their favorite spot, especially if the light from the window is too bright. It's okay to set them there while you entertain, but move them to a more hospitable spot once the party's over.

    Keep flowers away from fruits

  • Various fruits, especially apples, give off ethylene gas, and ethylene is the enemy of cut flowers, because it hastens their demise.

  • Many of you no doubt know that to ripen a green banana, all you need do is stick it in a bag with an apple inside. The ethylene given off by the apple causes the banana — or avocado or peach — to ripen quickly. That same ethylene will also cause a cut flower to wither. So, despite all the still-life paintings you may have seen that feature cut flowers and apples side by side, it's best to give the two as much distance as possible.

    Additives for the water

  • A lot of people try to extend the life of cut flowers by putting all sorts of things in the water. For example, some people swear by pennies, because what little copper there is in today's pennies is said to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi.

  • "Well, maybe, maybe not," Paul says. "This much I can say: The pennies won't harm the flowers."

  • There are also all sorts of preservatives available, and most of them do work, at least somewhat. However, a homemade concoction works just as well: Just add a pinch of sugar and a drop of bleach to the water and mix well before adding the flowers, and repeat the process each time you change the water.

  • "And, believe it or not, you can also crush pills used to treat erectile dysfunction in the water to enhance the flow of water through the vascular system in the stem," Paul says.

    Remove fading flowers fast

  • In a mixed bouquet, some flowers will fade faster than others, and when that happens, be sure to remove the faded ones fast. The reason? Fading flowers often release ethylene, and that will cause the remaining flowers to fade even faster.

  • But in Paul's experience, the most effective way to extend the life of cut flowers is to change the water often — every day if possible. And give the stems a fresh cut at least every other day. But realize that even if you do all that, most cut flowers won't last more than a week.

    Fragrance vs. longevity

  • What's the first thing someone does when you hand them a batch of cut flowers? They smell them. But cut flowers purchased from a florist rather than cut from your own garden often have no fragrance — even the ones, like roses, that you'd expect to be sweetly scented.

  • Scent has been bred out of many, if not most, cut flowers, because scent uses up a lot of a flower's energy and thus shortens its lifespan. So there's a tradeoff — heady aroma versus a longer shelf life. That's not to say you can't buy flowers that smell good, because you can, but they probably won't last nearly as long as those with no scent.

  • But why is that when you walk into a florist's shop, the place smells like, well, flowers? It's because florists have a trick or two up their sleeves. You see, they actually fill the air with an artificial spray, usually one that smells like roses. They also use preservatives in the water that release scent.

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