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8 Tips For Extending The Life Of Your Fresh Bouquet

by Dawn Sweetman on Aug 13, 2015

Receiving a bouquet of fresh flowers is a beautiful thing and making them last is important to brighten up your day every time you gaze upon them. Here are our pro tips for making those bouquets last those few extra days.

What You'll Need

Materials

• A bouquet of flowers obviously
• Vase or bowl
• Dish soap
• Bleach and/or white vinegar
• White granulated sugar

Tools

• A sharp knife
• Garden gloves

Instructions

1. Ensure your vase is thoroughly clean by giving it a good wash before putting your bouquet inside. Any bacteria left inside the water if you don't clean it will eat away at your beloved flower stems. Use white vinegar and some bleach to wipe out the insides then completely wash through with cold water. 

2. Right, you then need one small teaspoon of bleach into your vase followed by a healthy amount of water depending on how big the vase is, go for 1/3 full. 

3. Foliage is a killer for limiting bouquet life so cut these away using the sharp knife. Not sure what foilage is? The leaves on the stems.  

4. Now cut each stem at a 45-degree angle and immediately place inside the water. Some say if you leave them out after cutting for more than 30 seconds you'll be cursed for life! Just kidding, now put the stems in the vase.

5. If branches are your thing then you'll need to use a sharp knife to strip the bark from the ends, this exposes the capillaries of the branch to the water allowing them to soak up all the good stuff they need to thrive.

6. Pro-tip, if you have a large bouquet then use a large vase because overcrowded stems in a tight space tend to wilt more quickly and let out more bacteria. 

7. We all like a bit of sun now and again but don't let you bouquet sit in direct sunlight all day, they will wilt very quickly.

8. Change the water in your bouquet and give the stems a fresh angled cut at least every other day.