Caring for your flowers
by Brian Nisbet on June 23rd
Flowers have the power to brighten up any room and can be a colourful and beautiful asset to your home. However, in order to ensure the longevity and vitality of your flowers, it is important to make sure that they are well looked after. The first step to ensuring your flowers stay lovelier for longer is to make sure the vases are very clean before you use them. Dirty vases breed bacteria easier and some bacteria speed up the flower decomposition process. Another way to stop premature decomposition is to cut off any excess stalks and leaves, particularly those below water level. This means that the stem transports food and water only to the blooms, ensuring that they stay fresh that little bit longer. This is also the case with fading flowers, you should de-head them as soon as they start to wilt.
As for the food and water, you should try to add the food to the water in proportion and top up the water/food mix regularly. The flower will stay more beautiful for longer if it is given small bits of food at a time. By putting in all of the flower food at once, it can overwhelm the plant and cause it to take up the nutrients too quickly, meaning they will run out sooner. A top tip is to cut at least an inch off all of the stems, and do so at a slanted angle. This increases the surface area of the stem bottom, allowing the flower to soak up water and nutrients with more ease. A final pointer is to keep the arrangement away from direct sunlight, draughts and heat as these conditions can be too harsh for the delicate stems.
Tags: flower, care, food, water, stems, bacteria, flower care
Written for you by flower experts, giving you tips and advice on everything flower related. Read interesting flower facts and news.