A floral arrangement at home will brighten any room and enhances the decoration.
Sending birthday flowers loved ones or maybe a single stem rose for the special day like Mothers Day, Easter, Anniversary or even a wedding will have the same effect on them by brightening their day.
Once you have your flower arrangement you will want to keep it in tip top condition for a long time and in this article I have a assembled some tips which will make your flowers or bouquets look great and last as long as you possibly can.
You may have birthday flowers delivered, an anniversary flower arrangement, or wedding flower bridal bouquet, and it is possible that your flowers may arrive pre-arranged in a vase, but if not you will want to create your own floral arrangement.
To get the most out of your flowers, you might first wish to shorten the stems so that they fit nicely in the vase or container. Ensure the vase is big enough to show off all of the flowers heads and avoid cramping the stems.
Always begin with a clean vase as dirty vases may contain harmful bacteria which could reduce the life of your flower arrangement.
To stop the buildup of bacteria in water dissolve an of an aspirin in a cup of lukewarm water and add this to the water in the vase, now drop an old penny into the water. The aspirin helps to make the water more acidic helping the stems to soak up water, and the penny acts as a fungicide.
To be sure the maximum flow of water in the stems, cut stems diagonally making sure that the stems don’t sit flat on the bottom of the vase.
Cut the flowers underwater, to avoid air bubbles entering into the stems. Air bubbles block the flow of water in the stem.
Use a sharp knife to cut the stems since this will do minimum damage. Alternatively use a good pair of scissors, but scissors may crush and damage the stems cell structure.
Remove any leaves or foliage that might be below the water level as leaves will rot faster under water accelerating the growth of bacteria which can be detrimental to your flowers. Don’t remove thorns from roses though.
Use cold water for flowers from bulbs like daffodils, tulips, hyacinths etc and lukewarm water for other cut flowers.
Never permit the vase run out of water and change the water twice a week.
Daffodils will be better in their own vase because the sap can be harmful to other flowers.
Do not place your arrangement near a fruit bowl as ripening fruit gives off harmful gases.
Keep your arrangement away from direct sunlight and heaters or drafts.
Remove flowers as they fade to avoid bacteria build up.
