The Florister
A Leading Source of Flower Information
Extend the Life of your Flower Bouquets
Florist Selected Grower Flowers
If you have recently received a bouquet of flowers, you want them to be around as long as possible to enjoy their beauty. Here are a couple tips to help you extend the life of your flower bouquet.
In the evening when you are ready to call it a night, try keeping flowers in your refrigerator to help preserve their freshness. Flowers survive best in colder temperatures between 40-50 degrees. Just make sure your refrigerator is not too cold to where you freeze your flowers.
Remove all leaves from the part of the stem that is submerged under water. You can clean the stems by lightly brushing them with a vegetable brush. This will help the flowers drink as well as keep the water clearer.
Change the water and mist the flowers with water everyday. Keep the flowers out of direct sun and away from heat and drafts. This includes ceiling fans. These things will cause your flowers to wilt quicker.
Lastly, remove any dying flowers immediately. Dying flowers emit ethylene gas that will cause the other, healthy flowers to wilt.
What to do with Expired Flowers
State of Bliss Corsage
The event that was decorated with flowers, weddings, showers, birthdays, even funerals leave behind a mass amount of flowers. They are great to display and to gift out until their beauty starts to fade, butt then what do you do with them. Many merely toss them in the trash; however, you have other options.
Before your flowers begin to fade, you can preserve your bouquet by freeze drying them. It is best to have this professionally done because the process does not just mean placing your flowers in a cooler of dry ice. Professionals use special equipment and chemicals to remove the moisture from your flowers to preserve their color and beauty. Once they are done though, you can admire their beauty for several years. This is a rather expensive option, but if you want to relive your special moment or memory as long as possible, it is a great option for longevity.
Another option is to press your flowers. It is not too hard of a procedure and here are a few links of the process to help you out.
How to Press and Dry Flowers from Family Crafts.com
How to Press Flowers from AmazingMoms.com
Here is a video I enjoy. Not only does it show you how to press flowers but a neat way to use those flowers after they are pressed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvzmd7PxGaM&feature=player_embedded
You can also dry your flowers. There are several different ways you can go about this. Here is a link that will give you various options.
Methods of Preserving Flowers from North Dakota Agriculture Department
Another option is to start a compost pile. It is a great way to start a organic compost for your home gardening needs and gives back the to the environment.
These options are much better than simply tossing the flowers in the trash and gives you the option of keeping their beauty around for even longer.
Household Products for your Flower Care
Florist Grower Selection
Did you know there are many things in your kitchen that can make your flower garden perk up and even prevent or cure diseases? Well it is true.. For example, that left over pickle juice in the bottom of the pickle jar when poured at the base of your gardenias stand up and take notice producing even bigger and brighter blooms!
This little tonic will help your roses blooming all summer long beautifully. Just mix a couple tablespoons of instant tea, a tablespoon of dry red wine, half a teaspoon of fish emulsion, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of iron ( you can get it at any garden center) in a gallon of warm water in a bucket and treat your rose bushes to a quart of the mixture every three weeks during the growing center and you will experience roses like you never have before!
Next spring when you start planting your annuals and perennials, give them a healthy energy boost and a great start by making a mixture of 1 cup of sugar, three cups of bone meal, and one cup of Epsom salt in an old bucket. Now, before planting your seedling, just sprinkle a pinch or so in the bottom of the hole and you will between last years plantings and your current flowers when they grow faster and stronger and provide more blooms!
Another cure for black mold I didn’t mention before comes in a cleaning solution mixture of 1 cup of antiseptic mouthwash, one cup of chamomile tea, and one cup of Murphy’s oil soap in a 20 gallon hose end sprayer. Spay down all your treasured beauties and repeat every two weeks through out the growing season and you will have the best looking flower beds around!
Do you have any flower secrets you would like to share with the readers? Feel free to do so here!
Recent Comments