How to Make Preservatives for Fresh Cut Flowers

Preserve fresh cut flowers with homemade preservatives

Gardeners who grow an abundance of beautiful blooms outdoors often enjoy bringing this beauty indoors to enjoy the sights and smells inside as well. Even if you do not garden, adding live flowers to your home décor is a lovely way to freshen up a room. Make these vases of fresh cut flowers last as long as possible by adding preservatives to the water. Homemade floral preservatives are inexpensive to make and are as effective as the little packets of preservative you get from professional florists.

Things You'll Need

• Two containers with lids (1.5-quart and 1-gallon size)
• Sugar
• Chlorine bleach
• Lemon juice
• Listerine (any flavor)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Sharp knife

Instructions

Make a Sugar Preservative

1. Fill the smaller container with 1 qt. of warm water.

2. Add 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. chlorine bleach and 2 tsp. lemon juice to the warm water.

3. Place the lid on the container, and shake the mixture well to incorporate the ingredients fully.

4. Pour the water preservative into a vase, and place the cut flowers into the vase according to the variety of flowers.

Make a Listerine Preservative

1. Fill the larger container with 1 gallon of warm water.

2. Pour 2 oz. of Listerine mouthwash into the warm water.

3. Place the lid on the container, and shake the mixture well to incorporate the ingredients fully.

4. Pour the water preservative into a vase, and place the cut flowers into the vase according to the variety of flowers.

Tips & Warnings

• Cut flowers with solid stems diagonally and place them into the water. Place flowers with hollow stems upside down and fill the stems with plain water. Place your finger over the end of the stalk to hold the water in the stalk, and quickly place these flowers into the vase. Place flowers with soft stems (bulb flowers) in cold water instead of warm water. Place flowers with woody stems into the vase after making sure the stems ends are not flat. This will enable the ends of the stems to absorb more water. Dip the ends of the flowers with milky stems into boiling water for 30 seconds before placing them into the vase. This will keep these flowers from seeping sap into the water. Store any leftover preservatives in the refrigerator and use to change the water in the fresh cut flowers every two to three days. Cut all of the stems again before placing them into fresh water.

References

• Homemade Floral Preservatives