Cutting Flowers From Your Garden

[angelicwriter]

How do you prolong the health of freshly cut flowers from your garden? I recently cut some roses and they died within several days.... :(

[Kitten]

After you cut them, take them inside and run the bottoms under water, while cutting the stems again at an angle. You can buy stuff to add to the water you place your flowers in as well, but remember that the flowers are killed 'when you cut them'.....so you're only prolonging how fresh they appear afterward.

[Green-Moo]

Lemonade added to the water is said to prolong the life of the flowers.

with roses particularly, try sticking a pin through the stem just below the bloom. I've no idea why this is supposed to work.

[lovemyabba]

A little 7up in the water works, too. Lol. And do cut the stems at an angle. Also, keep the water full and they still need light. Roses still probably won't last more than about a week at most.

[mbtaluka]

Lemonade added to the water is said to prolong the life of the flowers.

with roses particularly, try sticking a pin through the stem just below the bloom. I've no idea why this is supposed to work.

Sticking a pin through the stem is what I knew till date but a lemonade would help to prolong the life of flowers is unknown. I generally get some powder which we get in the market if asked for preserving flowers for long time, this powder should be mixed in water.

[Mickie31]

Cut flowers from your garden either in the morning or late evening this is because moisture lost is very low during those times. Mix one gallon of water with 2 teaspoons of medicinal mouthwash to prolong flower life.

[SageMother]

Cut the stems at an angle and place them in water containing a dissolved aspirin! This usually works well for my flowers.

[justontime]

You need to prevent growth of bacteria in the water, so cut off all the leaves that would be in contact with the water, dissolve a soluble aspirin in the water (to make it acidic) and change the water frequently.

[riskey58]

I have used the aspirin before and it seemed to work well for me. I have not heard of using lemon before. Am going to try it. Thank you.

[atula]

What I always do is cut the stems at an angle and then simply keep them in water that has dissolved sugar and salt! it works fine and my flowers remain fresh for several days.....
aspirin works well too so i have heard but never tried myself....

[Serenity]

I've used both the aspirin and sugar at the same time. One teaspoon's enough and one aspirin in a vase of water. Changing the water every other day completely seems to help too (remember to add the sugar and aspirin again!) as does keeping them in a cool room rather than hot.

Also, try submerging them completely in a sink of cold water for an hour or so before putting them in a vase. This helps them absorb water not only through the bottom of the stem but the leaves as well and gives them a good well watered start. :)

[SageMother]

Another option is to choose flowers from your garden that dry well.

Hang them up in in an area with good ventilation and dry them, then spray them with preservative and stick them in a cool vase!

I do this wi the flowers my husband send me. some are tied in a bunch with ribbon and just laid on the mantle above the fireplace!

[debrajean]

These all seem like really good solutions to me. But they all seem to agree on one thing, cut the stems at an angle. This is something my grandmother told me years ago and you know, grandmother's always seem to give the best advice.