Beauty Treatment for the Flower Bouquet: Powders and Home Remedies

Fresh water and a fresh cut are the best conditions for prolonging the life of flowers in a vase. With simple tricks, remedies, and powders, you can further influence their durability and extend their blooming period.

The beauty of a flower or an entire bouquet is unfortunately fleeting. Once the roots, which act as "suction organs," are cut, water and nutrients must now be artificially and concentratedly supplied to the plant. To delay wilting as long as possible, you can add various substances to the vase water. Along with a regular fresh cut, changing the vase water, and removing the lower leaves, the wilting process can be delayed.

A quick fix to extend the longevity of flowers is household sugar. Dissolved in vase water, it quickly and cheaply offers an initial nutrient supply for your cut flowers. However, be cautious! Sugar is not only absorbed by the plant – bacteria in the water also use this energy source and multiply rapidly. This means that the risk of infection at the stem’s cut surface increases, the vascular pathways get clogged, and instead of prolonging the flowers' life, the opposite effect occurs.

By adding activated charcoal, the bacteria population is not stimulated. Its disinfecting effect prevents the clogging of the vascular pathways. However, activated charcoal provides no nutrients and is therefore only partially useful for prolonging the flowers' lifespan. The same applies to the popular copper coin. Copper alters the pH level of the water, which reduces bacterial activity – but it is not a nutrient replacement. The same goes for using a headache pill, which also costs money – so the cost-benefit ratio is no longer favorable.

Freshness preservatives, offered by various manufacturers, work quite differently. They contain an optimal nutrient supply for cut flowers while also limiting bacteria and keeping the vase water clean. Florists often provide their customers with small sachets of power powder. However, you can also purchase cut flower food in specialty stores. This ensures that even flowers you cut from your garden are well-supplied and don't rely on the goodwill of your florist.

The freshness preservatives have been optimized so much that, in addition to general products for mixed bouquets, there are now special mixtures for specific plant groups, such as for bulb flowers, specifically for daffodils, or for winter arrangements for fir and spruce branches.