Daily hacks: How to make cut flowers last longer

In our 'daily hacks' series, we bring you the latest beauty and home tips, trends and tricks to transform your life and save you money.


A fresh bouquet of gorgeous flowers is one of the easiest and best ways for people to show their love and appreciation for their loved ones, as they have the ability to brighten anyone’s day.

One of the downsides of buying flowers is that they tend to die really quickly, especially if you are not informed on how to properly take care of them.

Garden and Home has some tips and tricks to give you a little more knowledge on flowers and how to look after them, to ensure that they stay fresh and last for a much longer time.

Snip snip

Before placing your bouquet into a vas, try cutting the stem of each flower at an angle.

This will create a larger surface area for water absorption because the stems will be sitting flat directly against the base of the vase.

plants
Cutting the stems at an angle. Picture: iStock

Prune your flowers

Once you have put your flowers in a vase, make sure that you cut off any leaves from the stems which appear below the water line.

This will make your bouquet look much prettier, and this will also prevent bacterial growth from occurring.

Making sure that you remove any of the leaves which may have fallen off of the flowers and into the water in the vase will also prevent the development of bacterial rot.

flowers
Pruning your flowers to keep them alive much longer. Picture: iStock

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Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

Just like any other plant, your flowers need a good amount of water to survive. When moving your bouquet into a vase, add room temperature water and the packet of plant food provided with the bouquet into the vase.

It is important to make sure that you add the right amount of plant food to your water to get the best results in terms of having long-lasting fresh flowers.

Usually, the packets of plant food that are provided with each bouquet require exactly 1 liter of water.

watering
Watering your plants for healthy growth. Picture: iStock

Location is important

Where you place your vase with flowers is also an important factor to consider when trying to keep your flowers alive for a longer period of time.

Putting your vase in a cooler place in your home may be beneficial to their longevity, so try to avoid too much sunlight. Keeping them away from kitchen appliances that generate heat is also best, so try to avoid placing your arrangement on top of you microwave or refrigerator.

Excess winds can cause your flowers to dry faster, therefore resulting in their dying sooner than you would like.

Many people do not know this, but placing your flowers near any fruits could be detrimental to the lifespan of your flowers. When fruits start to ripen and go bad, they release small amounts of ethylene gas into the air, which hurts plants.

kitchen
Flowers placed on the kitchen counter near fruits. Picture: iStock

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