Everyone wants their cut flowers to last as long as possible! Our flowers have an immediate advantage because they are grown locally and cut shortly before you buy them. Flowers from the grocery store or traditional florist are mostly flown in from outside the country, are days or weeks old before you get them, and have been drenched in chemicals to help preserve them. Ummm....ick? We flower farmers like to say ‘buy grown not flown’!
There are tips and tricks to help cut flowers last the longest. The first is clean, fresh water every second day. Many people assume that adding water to the vessel as the level goes down is good enough, but you really want to REPLACE the water every two days, to get rid of any bacterial growth or debris that can inhibit your flowers from drinking water to stay fresh.
Secondly, consider placement. Anywhere hot will shorten the life of your flowers, including a sunny windowsill or on top of an appliance. Keep them out of direct sunlight.
Third, to encourage them to drink that nice fresh water you’re giving them, cut a bit off the bottoms of the stems when you replace the water. A fresh cut will help them hydrate and last longer.
Lastly, all blooms have a different vase life. For instance, fragrant sweet peas are lovely, but only last a few days under the best of circumstances, while ranunculus or lisianthus might give you two weeks! When you first (shorter life) flowers begin to fade, don’t toss your bouquet. Pluck them out and toss/compost them. You can rearrange those that are left, or repurpose them to smaller vessels.