Florist Reveals One Common Mistake That Makes Flowers in Your Bouquet Wilt Sooner Than Expected
It is disheartening to wake up one day and watch your roses fall into a deep sleep, but you know, they will never wake up from it. Their heads began to hang down droopily from the mouth of that swan-neck ceramic vase. The perfumy fragrance now seems to be stolen by an invisible crook, which, most likely, is the torrid summer air or maybe a phalanx of bacterial particles lurking inside the cut stems. As the torridness steals the moisture from the plants, they become thirsty and eventually start dying. Marks and Spencer florist, Samantha Walker, recently shared some tips homemakers can use to prevent the untimely death of flowers and make them last longer in the vase.
The first trick is knowing how to cut the flower stems correctly. “Aim for a 45-degree angle: this will allow for a larger surface area, meaning increased hydration. Cutting stems diagonally prevents stems from sitting flat on the bottom of the vase, which can limit water absorption,” Walker suggested. For bouquets who come with woody-stemmed flowers, like roses, laurel, eucalyptus and pussy willow, the expert suggested creating an “additional vertical cut of around 5cm through the base to encourage water uptake.”
The second important piece of information that flower parents need to pay attention to is position. Most, if not all, flower babies are ultra-sensitive to even the minutiae shifts in temperature and air composition. So, if they’re placed in conditions or an environment that doesn’t support their survival, these flowers won’t fight back. Powerless as they are against natural chemistry, the flowers will simply lose their vigor and become floppy. Walker recommended placing the florals in a room that is considerably cool and never hot, like the kitchen.
Plus, they should not be placed in close vicinity to fruits. According to Post Harvest, fruits like bananas, tomatoes, pears, mangoes, peaches, apples, and avocados are “climacteric fruits.” When these fruits start ripening, their bodies spew lots of ethylene gas into the air. When this gas comes in contact with the roses or other flowers, it reacts with their bodies and catalyses the process of ripening and maturation. This rapid ripening “can cause flowers and plants to mature and die at a faster rate.”
Other factors that can influence the cause of the flower petals to wither and sag include hydration and sunlight. When it comes to hydration, the flowers need a middle point between underwatering and overwatering. Walker said flower parents should water the plants regularly, feed them plant food as per the florist’s instructions, and add “two tablespoons of lemon juice and a small amount of sugar to the water” every couple of days to keep them nourished and quenched. At the same time, the water they are dipped in should be changed regularly, so the flowers don’t catch the mold or mildew growing in the stagnant water.
Another tip came from The Naked Scientists, who suggested flower owners cut the stems while submerging them in the water. Pulling them out of water will cause air bubbles to become trapped in the stems, which will then prevent them from drinking the fresh water you pour into the vase. And like fruits, one should remember to keep the flowers away from direct sunlight. “Even in winter, intense sunshine from south-facing windows can be too strong for cut flowers,” explained Walker. Lastly, if there are flowers in the bouquet that are already showing signs of wilting, then the ideal thing to do is to remove and separate them from the rest of the bunch, so that other flowers don’t pick up their bacteria.