Interflora provides advice on making flowers last longer
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With Easter weekend upon us, there’s no better way to brighten up your dining table than with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. If you are hoping to keep your bouquet blooming as long as possible, there are some steps you can take.
According to experts from Imperfect Foods, you should aim to put these tips into practice “as soon as you get” your flowers.
They advise arranging your flowers and getting them in a vase as soon as possible, meaning your blooms won’t be out of water for too long.
Sharing a video to TikTok, the experts unveiled five hacks that can keep your flowers looking their best for as long as possible.
Cut the stems
Before placing your flowers into a vase, the experts recommend “cutting stems at an angle to absorb the most water”.
The best way to do this is to cut each individual stem at a 45-degree angle.
By cutting stems at an angle, you are able to increase the surface area, allowing the flowers to absorb more water.
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Remove any leaves
Next, Imperfect Foods advise: “Trim off leaves that would sit below the waterline.”
However, experts from Grower Direct recommend leaving some of the leaves on the stem length.
This is because the flowers require some leaves as part of their hydration process.
They add: “Always be ‘gentle’ during the removal of leaves, gashes or breaks in the stem surface are ‘open wounds’ where bacteria may enter.”
Add soda water to your vase
Imperfect Foods recommend pouring some soda water into the vase along with regular water.
Unflavoured soda water has a number of benefits for plants, and can even help them grow faster.
According to Sciencing.com, soda water acts like “supercharged water”.
The website states: “Club soda and other unsweetened carbonated beverages, such as mineral water, contain a host of nutrients that are essential for plant growth. These include carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sulphur and sodium.”
Keep flowers away from fruit
According to Imperfect Fruits: “Flowers and fruit don’t play nice, keep them separate.”
The reason for this theory is down to high levels of ethylene produced by fruits such as tomatoes, bananas and apples.
Ethylene helps to regulate both the ripening and ageing process for cut flowers, potted plants, fruits and vegetables.
Therefore, not only is it purposely used to ripen fruits, it can also speed up how quickly flowers and potted plants bloom.
Keep flowers away from fruit
According to Imperfect Fruits: “Flowers and fruit don’t play nice, keep them separate.”
The reason for this theory is down to high levels of ethylene produced by fruits such as tomatoes, bananas and apples.
Ethylene helps to regulate both the ripening and ageing process for cut flowers, potted plants, fruits and vegetables.
Therefore, not only is it purposely used to ripen fruits, it can also speed up how quickly flowers and potted plants bloom.
Trim the stems every few days and refresh the water
To keep your blooms looking extra fresh, Imperfect Fruits recommend trimming your flower stems every few days and refreshing water.
Stems should be cut at an angle each time they are trimmed, and adding in a little extra soda water can give your blooms an added boost.
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