How to Care for a Bouquet of Flowers at homedecorbylulu.com

How to Care for a Bouquet of Flowers

(ARA) – Whether it is roses for a special birthday, daisies for Mother’s Day or carnations just because, people receive special bouquets of flowers for many reasons. But how do you care for your beautiful flower arrangement to keep it fresh and enjoy it longer?

Dr. Bridget Behe, also known as the Flower Doctor, is a professor in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University and hosts “Ask Bridget”, a question and answer section on the Web site www.FlowrMD.com. Behe offers her top five tricks of the trade on how to prolong the life of your beautiful blooms.

Food for Thought
Commercial flower food/preservative solution is a must. Carefully follow the mixing instructions on the packet.

Water Wonder
It is best to use warm water in the vase with your fresh-cut stems. If the water feels too hot or cold for you, then it’s not the right temperature for the flowers either. Warm water is taken up by stems faster and the warmth makes it easier to dissolve the flower food/preservative.

Leaf ‘em Out
If any leaves from the stems fall below the water line, remove them. Leaves in the water will promote bacterial growth that may limit the water uptake by the flowers.

Under the Knife
Before placing flowers into water, re-cut stems by removing one to two inches with a sharp knife or scissors. Be careful not to crush the stems.

Climate Control
Keep fresh flowers out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources and drafts such as air vents or fans.

Still have questions on how to keep your fresh flowers from withering away too soon? Log on to www.FlowrMD.com for more information or to e-mail a question to the Flower Doctor.

Courtesy of ARAcontent