Introduction
We all love having a bouquet around the house, but how do you keep cut flowers fresh indoors? So often, you will buy a lovely bunch only to have it wilt a few days later. Fresh flowers from your garden may wilt even faster. This is because they often don’t have chemical pesticides or preservatives used on grocery-store-bought flowers.
So, how do you keep your bouquet fresher for longer? There are 5 different ways to do it. In this article, I take you through these different methods. I conclude by telling you my favorite of the 5 options, so you know what will work best for your flowers. Read on to find out more!
5 Different Ways To Keep Cut Flowers Fresh
I’ve picked 5 tried and tested ways to keep cut flowers fresh to take you through in this article. I have one favorite that I will tell you about at the end. For now, you can read about how to use each method and its benefits.
1. Water And Trimming Stems
First, the most natural way to keep cut flowers fresh indoors. You simply have to take care of them! Trim the stems of your bouquet by an inch or so every 3 to 4 days. This will make sure the stems stay lively and fresh so that they can absorb enough water to keep the leaves and flowers alive.
This method is simple and effective, although it does have its downsides. Without the involvement of any extra chemicals to help your bunch of flowers thrive, sometimes, it doesn’t work so well. This is a good short-term solution for the first few days. However, you might need further intervention as time goes on. That is where methods 2 to 5 come in.
2. Flower Food
Next, and perhaps most obviously, flower food is one way to keep cut flowers fresh. There are plenty of brands of flower feed designed specifically for cut flowers kept indoors. These will often work wonders for keeping your blooms alive and bright.
The major downside of this method is that it can be expensive. You can pay quite a few dollars for flower feed to do something that can be achieved more cheaply by other methods. However, flower food is often reliable, and there are some great options out there on the market for you to try.
3. Aspirin To Keep Cut Flowers Fresh
Now, this method is one you might not have thought of. Aspirin is a common store-bought drug that has many surprising uses. However, you probably don’t know how it can help to keep cut flowers fresh for longer. This little tablet, when dissolved in water, lowers the pH of the water. This consequently helps flowers live longer. Use a single 500-mg aspirin tablet crushed up and dissolved in your vase.
This is a great way to keep your flowers happy and healthy. It doesn’t cost much as aspirin can be purchased at most health stores or pharmacies for cheap. It also works very well.
4. Lemonade
Next, another cheap home solution to keep cut flowers fresh. Simply pour some sugary lemonade into your flower water. This will add sugars to the water that brings life back to any dying blooms and keeps them happier for longer.
This method is also cheap and easily accessible. However, in my experience of using it, it doesn’t always work as well as some of the other options. This is likely because most store-bought lemonade has a lot of additional preservatives and flavoring in it that can do the flowers more harm than good.
5. Vodka – A Surprising Alternative To Keep Cut Flowers Fresh
Finally, a surprising alternative to all of the above recommendations is vodka. This is a bit more pricey than other methods owing to it requiring the purchase of some alcohol. There is actually some pretty solid science behind this trick. Vodka inhibits the production of ethylene in flowers. This then slows down the maturing and therefore dying process.
This method doesn’t always work well as vodka can also kill some of the helpful bacteria in the water if you add too much. It’s a bit more expensive than other methods and is not guaranteed success, so I don’t recommend this hack to keep cut flowers fresh as much.
Conclusion – Our Favorite Method
So, what’s the best method to keep cut flowers fresh? For me, aspirin usually comes out on top. I find this typically works best at keeping my blooms alive for a bit longer, and it is also inexpensive. I would next recommend some plant feed, and then lemonade and vodka last.
One additional tip is to pair the aspirin method with regular stem trimming. This will combine the benefits of both to keep your cut flowers fresh for longer! Why not give these methods a go to see what you prefer?
