Cut Flowers - What Really Helps?

Copper pennies, a spoonful of sugar, or aspirin tablets: there are many home remedies aimed at keeping cut flowers fresh for as long as possible. Whether it's a creatively arranged birthday bouquet from a florist or your own roses from the garden decorating the patio table, what actually helps and what should we immediately forget? Here are a few simple rules so you can enjoy your flowers for as long as possible.

Before placing cut flowers in a vase, always re-cut their stems. Even if they were just trimmed at the flower shop, you still need to do it again at home if they've been out of water for longer than 20 minutes.

Cut the flowers with a sharp knife. Make the cut on the stem as long and diagonal as possible. This gives the flower a larger surface area to absorb water more efficiently.

Change the water in the vase daily. It's not enough to just top up with new water. Bacteria form in the vase that attack flowers. You need to eliminate these bacteria by completely emptying the vase and refilling it with fresh water.

Use the flower food you get with a bouquet from good flower shops. Caution: Read the instructions carefully to ensure the correct dilution. Incorrect use is often counterproductive and can harm the flowers if the concentration is too high.

Pay attention to compatibility between different types of flowers. Certain flower varieties aren't good neighbors for others. For instance, daffodils release a sap that is toxic to almost all other flowers. It's also best to let lily of the valley stand alone in a vase.

Some flowers respond positively to "scalding" their stems. This involves holding the stems in boiling hot water for about 10 seconds. The hot water allows air bubbles to escape from the cut stems, which helps the flowers last longer. Sunflowers, all chrysanthemum varieties, lilac, and snowball viburnum tolerate this treatment very well.

Make sure the vase you plan to use is clean to prevent any chance of rot. You can tell a good flower shop by the fact that the water in their vases is always fresh and never smells stale.