How long do cut flowers live on average?
How long they last in the vase depends on the roses themselves. From the variety, and from the conditions in which they were kept after they were cut. On average, store-bought Dutch roses last a maximum of a week if nothing is done with them. Such roses are already sold for sale treated with special substances, so it is not surprising that their lifespan is so short.
Freshly cut roses can stand in a vase with water longer, up to ten days, without maintenance procedures.
How can you extend the storage time?
There are many ways to extend the shelf life of roses in a vase. They are chemical and organic.
Chemicals can be purchased at any specialized flower shop, and with their help you can extend the storage time of roses by two weeks. But due to the fact that this method is artificial, the appearance of the flowers suffers. And in a vase a few days later they will not look as beautiful as on the first day.
Organic methods are the best way to support plants , although they do not give as long-lasting results as chemical ones. When using organic substances, the appearance of plants retains their original appearance, and besides, organics are much cheaper than chemicals. You can extend the shelf life of roses with these substances up to 10 days.
Proper care of cut flowers also plays an important role in prolonging freshness, so it is important to know at what temperature to store them and how often to change the water in the vase.
Why do they wither so quickly?
- Roses themselves are too delicate flowers, and when they are cut, they are deprived of nutritional properties from the soil and begin to wither if they are simply placed in a vase with plain water without first trimming them.
- In water, stems and leaves can begin to rot and because of this, bacteria will begin to spread throughout the body of the flower.
- Roses can also wilt quickly in a vase if placed in water at the wrong temperature or if placed in a place that is too warm.
- Cut roses begin to fade quickly if the light in the room where they are located is too bright.
- Roses are very sensitive to ethylene, a gas produced by fruits. Therefore, in order for them to last a long time in a bouquet, the flowers need to be placed far from the places where the fruit bowl is located.
How to prolong the beauty of a given bouquet of roses
It all starts long before the bouquet is presented. It is quite clear that if you buy a bouquet of stale roses, then, despite all the tricks, the flowers will not be able to delight others with their beauty and aroma for a long time. Therefore, you need to know exactly what to look for when buying flowers.
I want to keep a beautiful bouquet for as long as possible
Tips for choosing fresh roses
Coming to a flower shop to buy a bouquet of fresh flowers, an experienced rose lover knows exactly how to choose the right gift. First of all you need:
- Pay attention to the presence of a “shirt”. This is what flower growers call the petals surrounding the bud. They usually have a greenish tint or are simply slightly darker than the flower itself. You can’t call them beautiful - they are quite small, have an irregular shape, and sometimes are also curly. Therefore, in order to give flowers a special elegance, cunning (or simply inexperienced) florists often remove them. This leads to the fact that the petals fall off faster - the flower loses its base, its frame. A shirt is a must have!
- If the flowers are standing in water, you need to gently squeeze the junction of the stem and petals. It is very important that it is firm and elastic. If the stem here is soft and pliable, then the flower has been standing in the water for several days. The only exception is the case when the flowers have just been taken out of the box - the base may simply not have been saturated with water.
- Study the shape of the bud. The correct flower is one or two thirds open. The one that has bloomed too much is clearly overripe and the petals will soon fall off. But a bud that is too closed is also a bad sign. It was cut too early - the flower did not have time to accumulate enough nutrients. Of course, it won’t last long - a few days after the bouquet is presented and brought home, the flowers will wither.
These simple rules must be taken into account when choosing colors.
What do they add in stores to make plants last longer?
In stores, newly arrived flowers do not remain fresh for as long as in apartments, so sellers, in order not to lose money, resort to some tricks to increase the shelf life of plants and help roses last longer.
In specialized flower shops there are many chemicals on sale for artificial maintenance of cut plants.
The product “cosmetics for plants FORTE” adds 14 days to the life of flowers. This product has a completely chemical composition, which is why purchased flowers will not last long in the apartment and they will not look so fresh.
Preparing water for cut roses
To extend the life of cut flowers, it is better to take water for them not from the tap, but settled, non-chlorinated or boiled water. In a vase you need to dissolve half an aspirin tablet or fill the vase with a special nutritious antiseptic composition, which is prepared as follows: dissolve 40 g (2 tablespoons) of granulated sugar and 150 mg of boric, salicylic or citric acid in 1 liter of boiled and cooled to 20°C water .
The water should be changed daily, nutrient solutions every 3-5 days, and the vases should be washed thoroughly. The stems are washed with running water, regularly updating the sections. Water with added floral preservative is the best medium for freshly cut roses. Small packages of floral preservative can be purchased at flower shops. Water with a preservative added will prolong the life of cut flowers if used according to the instructions on the package. It is not recommended to increase the dose of the preservative used. You should also not use desalinated water.
After trimming, place the stems in a deep vase with warm water with the addition of a preservative (temperature about 37-38 ° C). If possible, leave the flowers in a dark, cool place for several hours.
What analogues are there at home that can extend the life of plants from a bouquet?
There are many organic, budget analogues to store-bought chemicals:
- soda;
- salicylic acid;
- Apple vinegar;
- sugar;
- bleach;
- soda;
- saltpeter;
- glycerol;
- lemon acid;
- copper coin or silver item;
- manganese.
Everyday care
A cut flower needs daily care, which consists of the following:
- First you need to select a container. For a bouquet of three to five roses, an oblong vase with a narrow neck is better suited. For stability, the base must be heavy. A wide vase is more suitable for a lush bouquet.
- How to extend the life of roses in a vase? Flowers are best preserved if they are placed in opaque vases. In this case, microbes will not multiply as intensively.
- So much water should be poured into the vase so that the stems are immersed in it by only a third of their length.
How should you properly care for cut flowers besides adding special substances?
In order for roses to retain their beauty longer and remain alive and fresh, you need to follow the following rules:
- Make an oblique cut on all stems before placing them in a vase.
Due to this, the surface of the stem will increase, capable of absorbing water and, therefore, more water will flow into the vessels of the stem. To prevent air from getting into the vessel and clogging it, you need to cut the stem under water. - In order to extend the life of roses, you need to remove thorns and leaves from the lower parts of the stem located at water level. Thanks to this, water and nutrients will flow into the bud in greater quantities and the likelihood of rotting will decrease, the flower will please the eye longer.
- In order for the shelf life of cut flowers to be longer, you need to pour purified water at room temperature into the vase. The water must be changed every day, and all stems must be washed under running water.
- Roses do not like bright light, so it is better to place a vase with them in a darkened part of the room.
- A vase of flowers should not be placed in a warm room. It should be kept in a cool, dark place.
- Roses need to be sprayed with a spray bottle 3-4 times daily, but water should not get into the middle of the bud.
- In order for roses to last longer, they need to be placed in a separate vase, without mixing with any other flowers.
- Manganese. Dissolve a small amount in the water in which the roses will be placed.
- Place a copper coin or some kind of silver jewelry at the bottom of the vase. Silver ions eliminate bacteria and harmful microorganisms, so the flower stem will not rot.
- Citric acid creates an acidic environment that has a beneficial effect on flowers. But you need to add it carefully; no more than a teaspoon per vase. For nutrition, you can also add up to two grams of boric acid.
Method 4 – refrigerator
Is it possible to store a bouquet of roses in the refrigerator? Yes, in this case you will be able to significantly extend its durability. You need to do it like this:
- First you need to trim and remove the thorns, if any.
- After this, you need to take settled or filtered water at room temperature and add chrysal to it. It will keep flowers fresh for a long time.
- The bouquet itself should be wrapped in paper and placed in the solution. After this, it can be placed in the refrigerator. The ideal temperature for storing flowers is +5 degrees.
If you properly prepare the bouquet for storage and strictly observe the temperature regime, the roses will last up to a month. This trick can be used even if you have ordered flowers in advance to give them to someone for a holiday.
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What needs to be done to preserve the freshness of a bouquet for a long time at home?
To make a bouquet of roses pleasing to the eye for a long time, you can add such improvised means to the water with flowers as:
- Salicylic acid is the most common method for extending the life of cut roses. Depending on the number of flowers in the vase, you need to add aspirin tablets to the water. If there are a lot of flowers, then add two tablets, and if there are few, then one is enough.
- Dishwashing liquid or bleach can also be used to maintain roses. These products will kill all bacteria in the water, making the flowers last much longer.
- Two tablespoons of sugar per liter of water. To improve the effect, mix with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per liter of water.
- At night, flowers can be placed in a vase, into which, instead of regular water, pour soda.
- To revive flowers that are already beginning to fade, you need to put the bouquet in a vase filled with cold water overnight. You can improve the effectiveness of the method by cutting the stems a few centimeters and scorching the cut over a fire.
- Glycerol. Add a few drops of glycerin to the water and place the bouquet in the water. Add a few drops of glycerin every day when changing water.
- Saltpeter is another way to reanimate roses. Take one teaspoon per liter of water. Saltpeter can be replaced with ammonia.
- The method is radical, but effective. If all else fails, then you need to put the flowers in hot water, first making new cuts on the stems, and cover the top with a plastic bag. After 5 minutes, change the hot water to regular water and add two aspirin tablets or dishwashing detergent.
A few additional rules
To keep roses in your home longer without losing their freshness, you need to follow a few additional rules. They recommend:
- Place such flowers in vases separately from any other plants.
- Do not use freshly drawn tap water for roses. The fact is that this particular water is rich in various impurities, due to which the flowers die very quickly.
- Trim flowers and, if possible, place them in water as soon as possible after purchase. If roses remain without moisture for a long time, they will lose the carbohydrates they need and wither quickly.
- Make sure that the flowers themselves always remain in water. In dry times, moisture can be added to the vase during the day.
Using these simple techniques, you can extend the life of your bouquet by several days. They can be used for all types of roses.
Video: reviving fading flowers:
