How Sugar Affects Cut Flowers

Sugar helps keep flowers alive longer.

Adding sugar to the water where you keep cut flowers can help them live longer. The sugar feeds the cut flowers through the cut stem, and then travels into the flower, acting as a substitute for a natural food source.

Types

The amount of sugar you use depends on the type of flowers you have in your vase. For example, flowers like daffodils and tulips do not benefit from adding sugar to their water, according to the University of Massachusetts.

Size

Many flowers that benefit from the addition of sugar to their water, do best when 2 percent of their base water is sugar. This solution calls for about 4 tsp. dissolved in 1 qt. of water.

Considerations

The addition of sugar in the base water of flowers can also feed microorganisms harmful to plants. The addition of a little bleach can help kill these harmful microbes.

References

• UMass: Sugar and Acidity in Preservative Solutions for Field-Grown Cut Flowers
• Purdue: Add Hours to Your Flowers
• Santa Clara County: Master Gardeners---Extending Life of Cut Flowers