Everyone wants flowers at home, but how do you keep a beautiful bouquet for as long as possible?

Make a diagonal cut at home. It is the standard advice you receive from your florist. Why is this necessary and does this bevel cut really make the difference? “It’s about making a new ‘wound’ at the bottom of the stem, so that the water from the vase can be absorbed properly,” says Anton Van Duegen of Bloomon online florist. But that a flower can drink more water due to the steepened stem is a myth. “It’s easier. Try to cut a solid stem by hand.” Important: You have to repeat this function three days after purchase to preserve the beauty of the collection.

Taking an old vase from a cupboard that still has lumpy leftovers from the previous bouquet is not a good idea. “Bacteria are the number one enemy of flowers,” Van Duijn says. “You can easily use old green soap or sustainable detergent for washing.”

How much water should you put in the bowl? “Fill a third of the pot with water. That’s a good measure of 95 percent of the flowers,” says the florist. In lukewarm water with a temperature of about 25 degrees, oxygen is absorbed less quickly. “This makes bacteria less likely to grow in ice water.” Roses have a strong stem and can consume more water.

Picking baldness

Sometimes there are still a few pretty flowers in a faded bouquet. If you want to reuse it, it is best to first cut a large piece of the stem, about 10 cm. Due to the presence of bacteria in the stalk, otherwise the whole process of fresh vase and clean water is in vain. The water gets dirty faster than you think. “My rule is: If I don’t want to drink from it myself, why are these flowers?” Van Duijn says. How often does the water change? “In the hot summer months sometimes every two days, in the winter every three days.”

Even people who like a full bouquet would be wise to remove a few more leaves from the stem. Everything that is under the edge of the vase, because the leaves that end in the water will rot. This plucking may conflict with your feelings a little, but you are doing the flower a favor for it. The more leaves you leave on the stem, the less water will reach the flower. In other words: all that paper causes evaporation and a loss of strength.

And those bags of flower food make sense. “A bag of cut flower food like this keeps the water cleaner for longer and gives the flowers the start they need.”

It is also not recommended to place the bouquet of flowers on the windowsill in the sun. The flowers appear quickly due to the sunlight. If you want your package to last, this process does not have to be speeded up.

See also  Science Weekend (All Netherlands)

Megan Vasquez

"Creator. Coffee buff. Internet lover. Organizer. Pop culture geek. Tv fan. Proud foodaholic."

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *