Loving your flowers and want them to stick around awhile longer? Author of “Design Star: Lessons from the New York School of Flower Design”, Michael Gaffney, shares his tips to make your bouquet last longer!
1. What to Watch
Two things that kill flowers are bacteria in the water and surface evaporation. To combat water loss, Gaffney suggests dunking your flowers head first into a bucket of water as soon as you get them and to continue soaking them for half an hour to have your blossoms last twice as long.
2. What to Avoid
The packets of powder that comes with the flowers actually may be doing more harm than good if not used properly. According to Gaffney, those powders are actually meant to be put in water 24 hours before flowers touch it. These floral preserves, if added to water along with your bouquet, will actually deteriorate the straws of your blooms and will mak it more difficult for flowers to drink water.
3. What to Add
Adding little bleach to your flower’s water can go a long way. Gaffney says that bleach “will kill bacteria and keep your flowers alive longer.”
4. Upkeep
To keep them fresh, cut two inches off the stems of flowers every fourth day to remove the sections that might be eroding from bacteria.
5. Perfect Temperature
There’s nothing like cool temperatures to keep flowers lasting longer. Avoid hot suns, warm heaters, etc to prolong the flowers’ shelf life. If possible, place your arrangements outside on a cool night.
What great tips these are!! Now everyone can enjoy the smell of fresh cut daisies just a little while longer!! Have fun with it!
Author: Kaitlin Keller | Director of Content | Forever Bride
