Tips For Flower Care

Want your cut flowers to last longer?

Here are a few simple tips to follow to gain the maximum vase life out of your flowers, and you'll enjoy them longer as well!

• Firstly, use a clean vase or container and fill it with tap water.
  
  
• Add preservatives to the water. We will provide a sachet of preserver FREE with all bouquets purchased. As the flowers are living plant material, they need to be fed. The preserver will do this for you. The preserver also prevents the buildup of bacteria in the water. Keeping the water bacteria free, will prolong the life of your flowers.
  
  
• Snip off the base of the stem at least 2cm from the bottom of the stem at an angle. This re-opens the bottom of the stem and helps maintain the water flow up the stalk of the flower.
  
  
• You will also need to remove the leaves below the waterline, before placing the flowers into the vase. Any leaves sitting below the waterline can rot the water, and also block the flow of water up the stem.
  
  
• Keep flowers away from direct sunlight and heat. The hotter flowers get, the faster they release water. The life of your flowers is significantly reduced if you put them near a window or close to the heater.
  
  
• Change the water. Still water can build up bacteria. This bacteria may clog up the base of the stem, and prevent water from travelling up the stem of the flower. This will also prevent that stale smelly water smell. Fresh water every few days can prolong the life span of your flowers. If you run out of water preserver, just add a teaspoon of household bleach to the water.
  
  
• Flowers and fruit don’t mix. Flowers can rapidly deteriorate when around fruit, as fruit gives off a gas called ethylene. This gas speeds up the life of any produce around it. So don't forget, flowers in one corner, fruit in the other corner.
  

Now, all you have to do, is simply enjoy the flowers that nature has provided for you!

Flower Care

By simply following some basic guidelines for cut flower care and conditioning, you will find they will last longer and you''ll enjoy them more.

6 Easy Tips

Snip off the base of the stem
This helps maintain the water flow up the stalk of the flower. Sometimes the stems can have air pockets that stop the water from reaching the flower head. The stems should be snipped at least 2cm from the base of the stem at an angle.

Keep flowers away from sun and heat
The hotter flowers get, the faster they release water (transpire). Their life is significantly reduced when you put them near a window or close to the heater.

Change the water
Still water can build up bacteria that blocks the flower of water up the stem of the flower. The base of the stems start to rot and smell stale. Fresh, pure water every few days can prolong the life span of your flowers for up to a week.

Add preservatives
Flowers are living plant material and therefore need to be fed. All Flowers of Blaxland will provide a complimentary preserving mixture when you buy an arrangement, or you can add sugar and bleach. A dash of bleach stops algal growth. Sugar provides energy to the flowers so they can continue to develop. This helps them to last long enough for buds to fully open and for the vase life of the flowers to be extended.

Flowers and fruit don't mix
Fruit gives off a gas called ethylene. This gas speeds up the life of any produce around it. Flowers can rapidly deteriorate when around fruit.

Remove leaves below waterline
Any leaves sitting below the waterline can rot and block the flow of water up the stem.

Expert Care - Advanced Tips

One of the most frequent grumbles about fresh, cut flowers is that ''they don’t last'', yet when asked what they’ve done to look after their flowers, many say ''nothing''!

Whilst the transient nature of flowers is part of their charm, there are a number of little things which can be done to help them last longer. You don’t need to be an expert - just a bit of knowledge will make you "Master of your Bouquet!"

Expert Tips

Just as bananas and strawberries require different care, some types of flower respond well to their own brand of T.L.C. Try these tips for the best flowers ever!

Floppy stems: Flowers such as tulips will soon droop. Flowers spilling out from the vase can look effective, but if you wish to keep the flowers upright, wrap a bunch of stems in damp newspaper and stand in water overnight.

Milky stems ooze sap, which can form a waterproof seal and stop the flow of water up the stem. Singeing the cut stem will help prevent the problem.

Woody stems: Slice bark from the bottom of the stem and make a vertical slit in the base to permit a greater water intake.

Hairy stems such as gerberas, generally don’t like deep water. Place hairy-stemmed flowers in water no more than 7cm deep.

Bulb flowers: Flowering bulbs include hyacinths, daffodils and tulips. Cut away the white part of the stem, which does not take up water effectively and cut stems at an angle.

Wilted flowers can often be revived by submerging the whole flower in tepid water for a few hours. Roses and woody plants often respond to the hot water technique, where the flower is covered with a paper bag and the stems immersed in an inch of near-boiling water. This also targets bacteria.

With a bit of care, flowers will look better, longer. Some flowers last particularly well as a cut bloom, including gerbera, lisianthus, protea and chrysanthemum. Some others must be appreciated for their fleeting beauty.