Want to preserve your Valentine’s Day flowers? Here are some tips to keep them longer
Valentine’s Day is behind us, but flowers can evoke memories long after the special dinners and dates are over.
So, what if you want your bouquet to last?
Experts say you can take steps to stave off wilting or save the petals for even more time. Here are some tips.
How do you keep flowers alive?
The path toward keeping fresh-cut flowers alive longer can start when you first receive them, according to multiple flower companies’ websites.
Experts say it’s best to find a clean vase and put it in a place that doesn’t get too much sunlight or extreme temperatures. Then, it’s time to fill the vase with water and the packet of plant food that came with the delivery.
“Bath temperature water works best for your vase, since cold water is slower for flowers to drink, as opposed to warm water, which is lighter and easier for flowers to absorb,” 1800flowers.com wrote in a blog post.
If you want to continue enjoying your gift, you should change the water at least every two days and trim the stems frequently. ProFlowers recommends people cut the stems at an angle to allow “for better water intake since they aren’t sitting flat on the bottom of a vase.”
Cutting off all the lower leaves that touch the water can also preserve your flowers by helping to keep bacteria away. Other tips include adding a splash of household products like vodka or soda to the water to help make the blooms appear fresher for longer, according to Teleflora and other websites.
How do you preserve flowers?
If you want to do more than just maintain the freshness of your bouquet, you can take other measures to preserve them for days to come.
One option is to let the flowers air dry — though be careful as they start to get fragile, experts say.
“Hang them upside down in a dry, temperate area, such as a hallway closet,” brides.com wrote in an article updated Feb. 4. “Let all the blooms air-dry for at least a week or longer if it’s cool.”
Another way to hold onto the flowers is to press them. To start the process, it’s recommended that you arrange the blooms face-down on parchment paper and place another sheet of paper on the other side. The next step is to leave them between the pages of a heavy book for up to a month, according to the HGTV website.
Other methods may require taking a trip to the craft store and watching some tutorials. That’s because you can also pour epoxy resin onto your flowers or put them in a microwave with silica gel, crafting experts say.
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Want to preserve your Valentine’s Day flowers? Here are some tips to keep them longer."
