Keep your Valentine's flowers around longer!

Hello everyone! I'm back from my stent away from the computer (gasp!) and have several posts swimming around in my head that I can't wait to share with you all.

First, I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day - whether celebrating with your special someone, with a group of friends, or simply curled up with a glass of wine watching a sappy rom-com.

My husband, John, was very sweet for Valentine's Day. John knows that I'm not a big fan of traditional red roses, so he brought me a bouquet of Carnations, Peruvian Lilies, Pompons, and Daisies. And chocolates....... mmmmm......chocolates.........
but I digress.

Back to the point - I heard many moons ago that if you put a penny in the vase along with your fresh flowers, it will help them stay fresh for longer. Over the years, I've tried to remember to always drop Mr. Lincoln in with my floral arrangements, but I never really noticed a difference in the freshness of my flowers. That is why I decided to buck the system.........to break tradition.........to challenge the jewel of knowledge that had been bestowed upon me.................I decided to Google it.

Quite interesting, actually. Along with dropping a penny into the water, there are also several other suggested ways to keep flowers fresh, ranging from dropping in an aspirin tablet (your roses won't keel over from a stroke) to mixing wine into the water (seriously - why waste good wine???). I did, however, stumble upon two different sources, each written by knowledgeable sources (a chemist & a horticulturist) that debunk the aforementioned treatments and gave some seemingly down-to-earth, logical ways at prolonging the life of your flowers.

To see each article in its entirety, simply click on the author's name.

Mary H. Meyer, Extension Horticulturist at the University of Minnesota, advises that you trim the stems of your fresh flowers underwater before putting them into a vase of water. This ensures no air can get into the stem and wilt the flowers prematurely. She also suggests keeping flowers away from fruit, since the gas emissions from ripening fruits can actually speed up the wilting process of the flowers. Ms. Meyer stressed the importance of using a floral preservative (many bouquets come with a small sealed pouch of this) in a clean vase.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., is a freelance writer and scientific consultant with an extensive background in Chemistry and Biology. She expounded on cutting stems, adding that you should cut them at an angle to give a wider surface area for the flowers to take in water, and keeping them from sitting flat against the bottom of the vase. She suggests keeping the flowers trimmed from excess foleage since the decomposing leaves can seep bacteria into your water and rot your flowers quicker. She, too, is a fan of using plant preservatives. Here are some recipes for do-it-yourself flower preservative (in case you want to bring your own garden flowers indoors!)

Cut Flower Preservative Recipe #1

• 2 cups lemon-lime carbonated beverage (e.g., Sprite™ or 7-Up™)
• 1/2 teaspoon household chlorine bleach
• 2 cups warm water

Cut Flower Preservative Recipe #2

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon household chlorine bleach
• 1 quart warm water

Cut Flower Preservative Recipe #3

• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon household chlorine bleach
• 1 quart warm water