Sarahritchie17 I love having flowers in my apartment. They’re a simple piece of decor that works wonders to brighten up the space. But so many times, I’ve received flowers (or bought them for myself), they’ve lasted about 5 days before starting to wilt and die. Very rarely could I make fresh stems last more than a week and a half. So I went on a quest for tips to make flowers last longer. After doing some research and experimenting myself, here are the tips that worked for me to make my flowers last 2 weeks plus!
1. Buy the “3 for $12” flowers
If you’re buying your own flowers, I recommend buying the un-arranged ones for two reasons. First, you can get more flowers for less money this way if you pick them right. Second, each bundle comes with its own packet of flower food, so you have three weeks worth instead of just one.
But don’t worry if you don’t get the extra flower food packets. There are plenty of DIY flower food recipes on the internet. Basically, you need sugar for the food component and something that’ll kill bacteria. Here’s what I use when I’m out of flower food packets:
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar (that’s just what I had around; you can also use plain vinegar, bleach, or baking soda)
2. Use warm water to dissolve flower food
Some flower food instructions make it seem like you just dump it in a vase, fill with water, pop your flowers in, and you’re good to go. If you want to make them last longer, I recommend using 1-2 cups of lukewarm to warm water and stirring the flower food in with a knife or other mixing utensil to fully dissolve it before adding your flowers.
3. Cut stems using a knife
Try cutting your stems with a knife instead of scissors. Kitchen knives tend to have sharper blades which will create a clean cut instead of sealing the ends. Be sure to cut at a 45 degree angle to create more surface area for the flower to drink the water. Leave the rest of the flowers in water while you cut each one; only remove one at a time to keep the stems from sealing up. Also, cut off any leaves that would sit below the waterline in your vase.
Bonus tip: to create a nice arrangement, cut the stems at different lengths, put longer ones in the middle and shorter around the outside to form a mound shape.
4. Store flowers in fridge overnight
This tip is the biggest game-changer. I don’t actually know the reason behind this one, but it works so well! Make a space in your fridge to put your flowers every night before bed. If you think you’ll forget, I actually set an alarm for myself as a reminder.
5. Refresh after each week
After each week, trim your stems, change out the water, and dissolve new flower food. If the water level gets low before a full week, I usually just add water and save the food for once weekly.
These flowers are still hanging on 3 weeks in!
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Cheers!
Sarah
