How to Keep Flowers Alive in a Vase

Flowers can live in a vase for a long time.

Flowers can brighten up your day. While some flowers come in a vase or on a moss patch, others are simply a bouquet of cut flowers. Whichever way they come, it is in your best interest to figure out how to prolong the life of these flowers. Flowers in a vase can enhance any spot. These cut flowers require moisture at all times for them to last more than just one day. Simple techniques will keep flowers alive and fresh in a vase for a long time.

Things You'll Need

• Distilled or tap water
• Clear sweetened soda (such as 7-Up or Sprite)
• Scissors
• Plant freshener
• Bleach
• Spray bottle

Instructions

1. Clean the vase.

2. Place your cut flowers into the empty vase to check how many of the leaves on the lower part of the stems will come under the water. Take the flowers out and pluck off those leaves.

3. Fill the vase with water. Ideally, distilled water is the best, if you want to keep your flowers fresh longer; however, you can use lukewarm tap water. Pour around 12 oz. of sugar-sweetened clear soda, such as Sprite or 7-Up, into the vase as an alternative to water. These aerated drinks have an acid in them that deters the growth of bacteria.

4. Cut off a small portion from the bottom of the stems with scissors. Make sure that you cut at a 45-degree angle. This will give the stems more area to absorb water. It is best to cut the stems while holding them in a basin filled with lukewarm water.

5. Place the flowers in the vase. Do not put in too many. The stems need space to breathe. Use two vases if you have to. Change the water or soda in the vase every day. The longest you can wait is every alternate day; after this time bacteria is bound to grow and the flowers will begin to deteriorate. With each change of water, cut the stems a bit more.

6. Use a plant freshener on the leaves and the stems of the flowers. Spraying this on daily will slow the growth of bacteria and increase the life span of the flowers. The sugar in the freshener livens up the flowers. You can make your own freshener by adding 1 tsp. of bleach to 1 gallon of water and using this mixture as a spray.

7. Place your plants in a cool spot and never in places such as the top of the TV or over the cooking stove. The heat from these things will kill the plants faster.

Tips & Warnings

• Use cold water in the vase for bulb flowers such as daffodils, hyacinths and tulips.

• Add a bit of sugar to the water in the vase. This will give the cut plants the nutrition they require.

• Put in any one of the following into the water in the vase: a copper coin, an aspirin, a multivitamin tablet, a pinch of salt or baking powder. These items will help keep flowers fresh longer.

• Put daffodils in a separate vase. This is to protect other flowers. The stems of daffodils give out certain substances that can be toxic to other plants.

• Do not place your vase on the dining table next to fruits. Fruits emit a gas that tends to wither flowers.

References

• MSNBC: Keep Your Flowers Fresh This Valentine's Day
• Mama's Health: How to Take Care of Freshly Cut Flowers
• Reader's Digest: 8 Ways to Make Flowers Last Longer
• Flower Possibilities: How to Keep Your Flowers Fresher, Longer!