Top 7 Tricks for Keeping Spring Bouquets Fresh

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Eighth of March is a holiday for women and … flower sellers. Prices for armfuls of vibrant, fresh, intoxicating flora are skyrocketing to the point of being equated with luxury goods.

Of course, there is a desire to extend the life of expensive bouquets for as long as possible. To one degree or another, each of the fair sex is familiar with the rules of caring for freshly cut flowers. Fortunately, we have many reasons for practice. But it will not be superfluous to combine the scattered knowledge into a single list. Meet the TOP-7 tricks that allow you to keep the freshness of March "gifts" for a long time:

Dreamstime.com/Iwona Ziomek

Divide and rule

It would be a pity, but compositions from several types of plants will have to be turned into monovariants. Alas, not all flowers get along with each other: metabolic products released by some can be toxic to others. So, for example, you should not keep together daffodils and tulips, roses and lilies, forget-me-nots and lilies of the valley. If you want variety, then look for the right pair. Cypress, woodruff, geranium branches are excellent companions. They will not only prolong the life of neighbors, but also affect the intensity of their color.

Cleanliness is the key to health

Ohi, sighs, compliments … the gifted do not have time to thoroughly check the vases for dirt, dust and other trifles. Splashed out and okay! Meanwhile, poorly washed containers will avenge the hacky approach. Flowers will pay off for inattention to details: they will be killed by bacteria, the result of reproduction and vital activity of which will be mucus that clogs plant slices. So it's better to find a moment for water treatments with the addition of detergents.

Dreamstime.com/Lftan

Ends in water

By the way, about immersion in liquid. How much water do you put in the vase before placing the bouquet in it? It turns out that each type of color requires its own level. Five centimeters are enough for freesias, eight for gerberas, ten for chrysanthemums and roses, fifteen for irises and tulips, and twenty for carnations and daffodils. Well, don't forget the basics - cut off the ends of the stems at an angle (increasing the suction surface) before lowering them into the water. The procedure will have to be repeated many times, updating the slices: the generally accepted scheme is every other day.

Read also

News | 2014-03-10 Bouquets of toys: give your loved ones joy!

Average temperature in the hospital …

There is nothing more destructive to flowers than sudden changes in temperature. And before they were handed over to you, most likely, they had already been subjected to execution: from a warm store to a cold street, to and from a car, and so on. Meanwhile, for most flowers, staying at -2C ° for more than fifteen minutes is destructive (and frosts in early spring are not uncommon). But let's imagine an optimistic scenario in which the plants got to your doorstep alive and well. They are saved, they are warm … but should they be immediately immersed in the water? No! Let the unfortunate ones adapt. Wait ten minutes, then rinse the ends of the stems under running warm water. It is recommended that you cut them off immediately and cut them off while water is blocking air access. Otherwise, the capillaries will be clogged with air "plugs".

By the way, plants with woody stems should not be cut at an angle, but split, fixing the cuts with fragments of toothpicks or matches. Did you manage? Move on to find a suitable place for the vase.

Dreamstime.com/Konstantin Malkov

Where to put something ?

Well, it would seem, what is there to think about? On the table, bedside table, windowsill, in the end. Are there not enough places? But no. And here you have to follow a number of rules: no radiators nearby, a minimum of drafts, a maximum of light - but not in direct sunlight.

Ideally, the room should be no more than 18-19C °, because already at 22C ° the flowers begin to wither.

And if you are not too lazy to bother, then you can add another one to the list of necessary procedures - every night transfer of the bouquet to a cool place, followed by its return in the morning to the place of public viewing. They say that this running around has a very beneficial effect on the flora.

Give me disinfection

Be that as it may, but only permutations from place to place and a thrifty attitude to the temperature regime will not achieve a long-term result. You can't do without chemistry. Even if you are not a fan of the use of aggressive means, believe me - your intervention will be minimal in comparison with the manipulations performed on them earlier. So what a deal! Aspirin, ammonium solution or even … laundry bleach in some cases (a few drops). Any disinfectants to help you. They are now being sold visibly and invisibly. The main task is to kill all the "living creatures". Happened? This means that most of the path to flower longevity has been covered.

Dreamstime.com/Srapulsar38

feed me

Be prepared for the bouquets to have an excellent appetite. Flowers will consume water constantly and can suck out all the liquid from the vase in a couple of days. This should be monitored especially carefully if it is hot in the apartment (correction for evaporation). But okay - water, so these fastidious also need feeding!.. For example, roses prefer soft water, so sugar or vinegar should be added to a vase with these flowers (for 2 liters of water - 2 teaspoons of sugar or 2 tablespoons of vinegar) … Sweet tooths also include freesias, irises, gerberas, tulips, daffodils and asters. They will need 30 grams of sugar per liter of water. And even more cloves - 70 grams per liter. But do not forget that there are flowers that can be damaged by such an additive: lilies of the valley, cyclamens. In addition, some plants have additional preferences. So, for example, roses, for example, still love calcium chloride (or citric acid - a quarter of a spoon per liter), and carnations - boric acid. Feed it right and you will be rewarded!

That's all you need to know about caring for flower bouquets. There is, of course, the temptation to just put the plants in the water and ignore the need for further manipulation. After examining a rather large list, willy-nilly you will think: "Is it worth it?" … and you will smoothly return to the beginning of the article, where there is an unequivocal answer to this question. How worth it! And the gap in the budgets of the stronger sex will confirm this. So make sure that the sacrifices are not in vain - let the gift by March 8 please you and your loved ones for a long, long time!