Keep Cut Flowers Fresh (How to make your own Cut Flower Food!)
By amy lupton
If you have been to my kitchen, you know most of the time I have a fresh plant, flower arrangement or herb displayed on my table. Plants and flowers inside (and all around!) make me happy, thankful and remind me of the beauty God gives each of us. When cut flowers are displayed in a beautiful vase, I want to make them last longer, look vibrant, and complement whatever room they are in. 😊
There are about as many tips and recipes for keeping flowers lasting longer as there are types of flowers. People will swear this does it, or that, but there are THREE rules of thumb (green thumb no less! :) that many pro-florists follow to making the flowers happy in their vase and lasting longer and more vibrant.
Read on to see how our tests did with these rules of thumb and other things that went against this... that lasted just as long!
3 Rules of Thumb to Make Your Flowers Last
You need the correct pH of the water- Most tap water is a bit alkaline, so having water that is a bit acidic will help flowers have a more habitable medium. This can be done with ingredients such as citric acid (found in most flower foods), apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice.
You need something to feed the flowers. Flowers will need continue to take in nourishment to keep their heads perked up. This can be done with sugar (found in most flower foods), honey and even maple syrup.
The flower water needs an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal agent in the water to keep bacteria and fungus from ruining the flowers too early. There are several options here: a copper penny (one dated before 1997, because the pennies afterward are just coated with copper and not predominately copper), apple cider vinegar, vodka (or other alcohol), or bleach (used in most commercial flower foods).
As far as other tips.... we have tried so many combinations and even put the flowers in boiling water (a tip from a flower shop!) and have found that several factors can be downright time consuming and tedious. As much as I love my flowers, I don't want to spend 10 minutes a day taking care of them.
So here are some of my favorite tips to keep your cut flowers lasting longer! If you have your own tips, please comment below on what has worked for you! We also follow with the recipe that worked best for us.
Favorite Tips for Keeping Flowers Looking Fresh
Remove leaves. When you get your fresh flowers picked or from the store, spend a few minutes and remove excess leaves. These leaves require the flower to work harder, and take up extra water and nutrients. A nice trimmed flower will last the longest. An exception is woody and mostly leafy plants such as evergreens and eucalyptus.
Trim your flowers every day. Trim the stems at an angle about a quarter of an inch. Not much is needed to be trimmed. We have found this and fresh water really makes things last longer. Almost as long as all of the fancy recipes all over the internet!
Change the water every day. Like we said above, this and trimming was just as effective as all the flower foods. Flowers want fresh water!
Keep away from excess heat or light. A sunny window isn’t the best place for your arrangement (even though it's beautiful!).
Remember that certain flowers aren't great for vase living. Certain flowers last longer such as roses, sunflowers, lilies, stock, thistle, gladiolas. Flowers that aren't long lasters are: daisy, hydrangea, dahlias, gardenia, sweet pea and tulips.
Homemade Flower Food Recipes
Regarding the homemade flower food recipes: You can also choose one ingredient from the lists in the three rules of thumb above and create your own.
Most ingredients are 1 tsp-1 tbs in two quarts of water. Sugar and bleach worked well, if you keep bleach around the house. If you add too much for your vase, things will go south fast... so make sure to estimate what size your vase needs.
And if all else fails, we found that throwing in a penny (like we said, one that is dated pre-1997) did actually do great for a couple of days.
Flower Food Recipe- a la Liferoot!
This is great for if you are gifting some flowers to someone and know the water won't be changed for several days.
You can also make a batch of this and keep in a jar in the fridge (and if someone drinks it, might make them have a sour face, but is safe... and a great tonic for the body! 😊 If you do keep it in a jar mixed up, you will need to estimate how much to add to what water. A large vase will take about 2 tbs. You will need to experiment with it.
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs honey (an added anti-bacterial boost!)
Mix with 2 quart water and pour in flower vase.
Enjoy the flowers! xoxo