Making My Flowers Last and Last

When I’m buying flowers for myself, I look especially for blossoms that are still closed – buds essentially. This way I can enjoy them opening as well as enjoy the open, full bloom. They last longer this way. Friends who are avid gardeners tell me that this also means that the flower was likely cut in the early morning which is also supposed to be better for the life of the blossom. I give the buds a gentle squeeze with my fingertips too. I want it to feel firm and fresh to my touch. Often budget flowers (especially roses) are mushy feeling and soft under my fingers. This is a sign that the bud is already rotting and dying. It may never open and if it does it won’t be lush and wonderful. It certainly won’t have the lifespan of the fresh, firm young bud. Just because I’m on a budget doesn’t mean I’m not a fussy buyer.

Now that the flowers are home – I want to ensure that they last as long as possible and provide the most enjoyment for me. I could just stick them in a vase and pour in the little packet of stuff that comes with them. But then, my poor flowers are unlikely to last a week. This is another reason to avoid the pre-packaged bouquets at the grocery store. They add to the temptation to just stick them in water --- after all, they’re already arranged, aren’t they?

When I first get the blooms home, I cut the stems down. I need to cut at least ½ an inch off the bottom, but usually I’ll cut quite a bit more. I set my vase on the countertop, fairly close to the edge. I hold the flowers near to the countertop with the stems dipping below the counter. This lets me see the vase and the flowers together in perspective. I can judge how tall the flower want to be for that particular vase. I cut my stems at an angle with super sharp scissors. Don’t use a knife – it’s an invitation to cutting your hand. If you can do it, cutting the stems under running water also seems to help a bit. Usually, this is more than I can manage. While I’m at it with the scissors, I strip off any leaves that will be below the water, or even likely to touch the water. They will rot and cause decay that quickly spread to the plant itself. Out they go.

I fill my vase about 1/3 full with warmish water. Sometimes I do add the packet of stuff that comes with the flowers, other times I add just a small splash of bleach. It seems to help keep the algae down and that adds to the lifespan of the flowers. I take the bouquet apart and arrange the flowers in the vase. I start out by putting in blooms at an angle, rather than straight up and down. This creates a nice circumference to the final creation. I have a thing about symmetry, so I try to keep track of that as well.

Each morning, I try to change the water in the vase. The more consistent I am about this, the longer my flowers seem to last. If the weather is hot and sticky, I also add a couple of ice cubes to the vase each afternoon or evening. When I’m getting ice for our drinks at dinner, I just slip a couple of cubes in the vase too. Keeping the water cool like this seems to help the life of the blooms as well.

After the better part of a week, some of my blooms are beginning to look sad. I take the entire arrangement apart. The sad looking blooms are tossed right away. No sense in waiting for them to die completely and spread their decay to the other blooms. The blooms that are still good are re-cut with my scissors. I take off another ½ inch or so. I wash out the vase and clean it well. Then I fill it with fresh water and another tiny splash of bleach and I rearrange the blossoms that remain to make a fresh and lovely bouquet. Sometimes, I need to use a different vase – one with a smaller opening or a different shape, in order to accommodate the reduced number of flowers.

By taking care of my flowers like this, supermarket bouquets typically last me two weeks or more. My home can always have fresh flowers – at little impact to my budget. That is definitely bon vivant.