How to Feed Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers add fragrance and beauty to a home.

Fresh flowers normally last around a week indoors, but their lifespan can be extended if you take the right care of them. A flower food mixed into the water provides vital nutrients to rejuvenate blossoms and foliage. Many flower bouquets come with a sachet of prepared flower food, but you can make your own natural solution if you don't want to use chemicals.

Things You'll Need

• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. bleach
• 2 ounces Listerine mouthwash
• Sharp scissors

Instructions

1. Add 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. bleach to 1 quart of water. Alternatively, add 2 ounces Listerine mouthwash to 1 gallon of water. Stir well to mix the food into the water.

2. Transfer your liquid food into a clean vase that is a suitable size and height for your flowers. Don't squeeze a large bouquet of flowers into a small vase or place a single stem in a wide-necked vessel.

3. Remove any foliage that might float under the water line of the vase.

4. Cut 1 to 2 inches from the bottom of each stem, cutting diagonally with sharp scissors, and place your flowers into the water.

5. Change the water whenever it becomes cloudy, and add more of your food with each fresh water supply. Remove the flowers every 2 to 3 days, rinse the stems and make another diagonal cut on their stems. Rinse out the vase, fill it with water and food, mix well and put the flowers back in.

6. Remove any leaves that fall or hang into the water to prevent bacterial and fungal growth.

Tips & Warnings

• Put your cut flowers in lukewarm water, except for daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and other bulb flowers, which should be placed in cold water.

• Keep flowers out of direct sunlight, and place them in a cool place every night.

• Do not mix daffodils with other flowers, as they release a toxic compound.

References

• Plantea.com; How to Preserve Fresh Cut Flowers -- Naturally; Marion Owen
• Gardening Channel: How to Help Fresh Cut Flowers Keep Longer