Green and white flowers arranged by flower delivery service The Plant Gallery in New Orleans, LA

5 Easy Ways to Lengthen the Life of your Cut Flowers

Flowers are a simple way to elevate your space, bring nature into the home, and yes, bring you that warm and fuzzy feeling that only something so beautiful can do. So why not make your flowers and, yes, your money, go further? Here, you will find 5 easy ways to make those cut flower blooms last longer so that you can enjoy them for as much time as is possible. Most of these tips you will only need to do once or once every two or three days and only take a minute!

1. Water as soon as possible

This is pretty well known, but cut flowers need to get in water as soon as possible after you purchase them. You can get them in water and then arrange, trim, or cut them as needed later in the day when you can take the time for them.

Make your cut flowers last longer

2. Keep the stem clean

Every two to three days, you will want to make a fresh trim at the bottom of the stem (preferably at an angle) so that the flowers will have a fresh cut to suck up the water. Additionally, before putting the flowers in the water, you will want to remove any leaves or foliage on the plant that will be submerged in water. This will help prevent bacteria from breeding and keep the water cleaner for longer.

3. Keep the Flowers out of the Sun

Contrary to what you might think, cut flowers prefer a cool, dark spot out of the way of a draft, unlike their garden counterparts. The sun will dehydrate flowers faster. Place flowers away from windows where the sun will directly shine on them, and out of the way of AC and heating vents.

4. Change the Water every 2 – 3 days

Replace cloudy and dirty water with fresh water every 2 to 3 days as needed to lengthen the life of your flowers. This will prevent bacteria from breeding and clogging up the cuts that the flowers are using to provide themselves with water.

How to Make your cut flowers last longer

5. Feed your Flowers

Many flowers come with flower food. Be sure to mix the food with the water that you place the flowers in. Didn’t get any flower food with your flowers? No problem. Mix 1 quart water + 2 tbsp lemon juice + 1 tbsp sugar + 1/2 tsp bleach for a homemade flower food and water solution. See the full recipe.

how to make your cut flowers last longer

Flowers are meant to be enjoyed, so why not enjoy them for longer? As always, thank you for reading and we hope that this inspires you to bring some nature into your home through flowers.

You can shop our online floral shop, call us at (504) 488-8887 or visit us at 9401 Airline Hwy, New Orleans, LA 70118. Our flower arrangements are handmade by our floral designers and can be customized. Hope to see you soon!