Tips for Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh

If you love filling your home with fresh flowers, you’re probably familiar with the disappointment of watching flowers wither away after several days in a vase. You can’t keep cut flowers alive forever, but you can certainly make your flowers last longer. Consider a few great flower tips from a flower shop in San Francisco, CA that will keep your favorite blooms looking vibrant and healthy for much longer than usual:

  • Apple cider vinegar: Apple cider vinegar has a number of great uses, including flower preservation. By adding a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to your flower vase, along with a couple of tablespoons of sugar, you can prolong the life of your flowers. The apple cider vinegar will prevent bacteria from targeting your flowers while the sugar will feed your flowers and keep them healthy longer.
  • Vodka: Like vinegar, vodka is an antibacterial agent that can keep flowers healthy and prevent fading and withering. A few drops of vodka in your vase water should be sufficient.
  • Soda: The high sugar content of soda can help feed your flowers. Simply add a quarter cup of soda to your flower vase and mix with your water. If you want to use soda to preserve your flowers without affecting the way your arrangement looks, you can use clear soda like Sprite that won’t show through transparent vases.
  • Hairspray: Spraying hairspray underneath your flowers’ leaves and petals can preserve the appearance of your floral arrangement. The hairspray will stiffen your flowers and keep them looking healthy for a longer period of time. Try using the hairspray method along with adding sugar and vinegar to your water for the best results.
  • Aspirin: Aspirin is made with salicylic acid, which prevents bacterial growth. Crush up a couple of aspirin tablets and add them to your flower water to keep bacteria at bay.
  • Pennies: Pennies are made from copper, which increases acidity when it’s added to water. Using a penny for its antibacterial properties, along with some sugar to feed your flowers, can preserve your arrangement.
  • Bleach: You might assume that bleach would be harmful to flowers, but adding bleach to your flower water is an effective way to prevent bacterial growth. In addition, bleach prevents the water in your flower vase from getting cloudy.

If you want some more tips to help you care for your fresh cut flowers, give The Delicate Daisy – House of Flowers a call. We have been in business since 1939, and we have been proud to serve the community with quality floral arrangements and decorations for years. We can provide you with everything from special arrangements for large events to personalized floral gifts for someone you love. All of the flowers we use are hand-selected to ensure that we can create gorgeous, high-quality arrangements every time. Learn more about what we have to offer by giving us a call or stopping by our flower shop in San Francisco, CA to see what we have in stock!

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