15+ Tips on How to Make Flowers Last Longer

Regularly cut the flower stems with sharp scissors to keep a clean cut. This helps the stems take in water properly. Cutting at an angled slant makes more surface area for absorbing water compared to a straight horizontal cut across the stem.

If cut straight across, the whole stem surface would be flat against the bottom of the vase, limiting water absorption. Cut off at least 1-2 inches from the bottom of each stem at a 45 degree angle using sharp scissors or pruners.

Cutting on a slant exposes more stem surface to absorb water. Avoid crushing or damaging the stems when cutting them.

If you're wondering how to keep fresh flowers alive longer, then using fresh water is very important. Once you put flowers in a vase, don't ignore them or they'll die quickly.

Change out the water every couple of days and use cooler water - flowers don't like heat. Only fill the vase two-thirds full. Completely replace the vase water every 2-3 days with fresh, lukewarm water.

This provides new nutrients for the flowers and gets rid of old, depleted water and any stem debris. Regularly refreshing the water keeps your flowers hydrated and removes built-up matter that can promote bacteria growth. 

How to make the flowers last longer? Well, flower shops keep their flowers cold to make them last longer. While you likely won't put a bouquet in your fridge at home, you can still extend their life by keeping them cool and using cold water in the vase.

The best spot is a breezy, air-conditioned room away from direct sunlight, radiators, and heaters. The cooler the area, the longer the flowers will stay fresh.

If you don't have an AC'd room, choose the coolest spot in your home and avoid placing the flowers near heat sources like sunny windows or heating vents. Using cold water straight from the fridge can also help. 

Adding greens to a flower bouquet can make it look livelier and more interesting. However, leaves on individual flower stems should be removed. If there are any leaves or greens on the stems of flowers in your vase, take them all off - especially any touching the water or petals.

Be sure to strip off any leaves that would sit under the water level in the vase. Submerged leaves will rot and grow bacteria that can clog up the stems, preventing the flowers from absorbing water properly.

The little powder packets that sometimes come with bought flowers can help them last longer. But use these "flower foods" sparingly for best results. Add just a bit each time you change the vase water instead of using the whole packet at once.

These powder packs contain sugar to nourish the flowers, an acidic ingredient to control the water's pH level, and a disinfectant to prevent bacterial growth. You can make your own flower food by mixing together 1 part sugar, 1 part bleach, and 2 parts lemon or lime juice.

How to keep flower alive longer? Keep flower bouquets far away from ripening fruits like apples, bananas, and tomatoes. As fruits ripen, they release a gas that tells flowers to start dying quickly. This bad gas for flowers is called ethylene.

When flowers get exposed to ethylene from nearby fruits, it makes the flowers make their own ethylene too. And that ethylene gas makes the flowers shrivel up and wilt much faster than normal. So if you want your flowers to live a nice long life in the vase, never put fruits anywhere close by. 

Just like your houseplants, cut flowers also have special temperature and light needs. If you can put your flower arrangement somewhere away from direct light or heat sources, it will stay fresh much longer.

Keep bouquets far away from any heat vents, fireplaces, radiators, etc. because heat makes flowers dry out and die really fast. The hotter the room, the quicker flowers will wilt and shrivel up.

How do i make flowers last longer? Before putting new flowers in a vase, you need to wash it really well. Use soap and hot water to thoroughly clean out any dirt, dust or old bacteria left behind. Opaque (non-clear) vases help prevent algae growth too.

Cleaning the vase first is key to keeping flowers fresh for longer. Any leftover bacteria will make the flowers die faster. Everything you do to extend flowers' lives is about avoiding bacteria growth. A dirty vase jump-starts bacteria immediately, ruining the flowers fast.

To clean vases properly, make a mixture of 1 part bleach and 10 parts water. Scrub the vase using this bleach solution, then rinse it very thoroughly. 

Flowers can absorb water not just through their stems, but also through their leaves and petals. So giving your flowers a light misting with a spray bottle can help keep them hydrated and fresh for longer.

After you arrange your flowers, you can also use special sprays made for this purpose. Products like Crowning Glory or Finishing Touch are anti-transpirant sprays. "Anti-transpirant" means they help prevent the flowers from losing too much moisture and drying out.

When you notice a flower in your bouquet has died, take it out quickly. Just like fresh fruits and veggies, flowers release a gas called ethylene when they die. This ethylene gas makes the other living flowers die faster too.

To stop one dead flower from killing its neighbors, you have to remove it from the bouquet immediately. Just say "thank you" to the expired flower for looking pretty while it lasted, and then pluck it out.

Don't let dead flowers stick around or they'll speedily cause all the others to die off too because of their ethylene gas. Removing the dead ones prevents this and allows the remaining fresh flowers to live their full lifespan.

Not all flowers stay fresh for the same number of days once you put them in a vase. Each type of flower has its own lifespan after being cut. For example, carnations tend to last a lot longer than peonies when put in a vase of water.

Carnations might stay vibrant for 2-3 weeks, while peonies may only last around 5-7 days. If you buy a pre-made bouquet from a grocery store, those flowers were likely cut days earlier. So they won't stay fresh as long as newly cut flowers from a florist shop.

The fresher the flowers when you get them, the longer their vase life will be. But even with brand new cuts, some varieties just naturally have a shorter or longer lifespan than others after cutting.

The vase you put your flowers in can really impact how long they stay fresh and vibrant. Expert florists can help you choose the perfect vase - one that looks great with your flower arrangement but also keeps the flowers healthy and in good shape.

There are many vase options, from tall and sleek to low, stylish bowls. No matter what style bouquet you have, the vase selection has something ideal that will extend your flowers' lifespan.

An old trick is to crush up some aspirin and mix it into the vase water before adding your flowers. The aspirin changes the water's acidity level to make the pH better for the flowers.

With the right pH from the aspirin, it becomes easier for the flower stems to suck up the water. This helps keep the blooms hydrated and delays wilting. The aspirin adjusts the water's acidity to create a more flower-friendly environment. The stems can then drink up that water more efficiently to stay nourished.

This simple addition of crushed aspirin to the vase water is an inexpensive way to extend your bouquet's freshness. Just a couple tablets can give those thirsty flowers exactly what they need to last.

You may have heard that hairspray can help keep cut flowers fresh by sealing in moisture. However, hairspray is not the best option and should only be used as an absolute last resort. 

A much better product to use is called Crowning Glory flower spray. This spray is specifically made for keeping cut flowers hydrated and vibrant. 

To use it, simply mist the spray all over the flower petals and stems. Then put the flowers into a vase with fresh water as normal. The flower spray forms a protective coating that locks in the flowers' natural moisture. This prevents them from drying out and wilting too quickly.

Before drinking that can of lemon-lime soda, pour a little bit into your flower vase first. The type of soda matters - it needs to be lemon-lime specifically. The citrus in the lemon-lime soda helps balance the pH level of the water, which flowers need. And the sugar in the soda provides nourishment to feed the flowers.

Essentially, the soda creates the perfect water environment for cut flowers by adjusting the pH while giving them an energy boost from the sugar. Just add a few ounces or a 1/4 cup of lemon-lime soda along with the fresh vase water before arranging your flowers.

The flowers will be able to drink up that perfectly pH'd, sugar-enriched water.

Believe it or not, putting a few old pennies in your flower vase can help keep your bouquet fresh for longer. But this trick only works if the pennies are made of real copper. The older the penny, the better - pennies made before the 1980s are ideal.

That's because the natural properties of copper metal fight against bacteria growth. Bacteria building up in the vase water is what makes flowers wilt and die quickly. The copper from those old pennies helps stop bacteria from taking over.

Simply drop a couple pre-1980s copper pennies into the vase water along with your flower stems. The copper will release into the water and act as a bacteria-blocker.

Bleach may seem like an odd ingredient for keeping flowers alive, but a very small amount can actually help extend their freshness. Bleach works by keeping the vase water clean and killing any bacteria that could build up.

Bacteria can clog up the flower stems, preventing them from drinking enough water to stay hydrated. A few drops of bleach in the vase gets rid of this bacteria. It allows the stems to stay open and absorb water properly, delaying wilting. Bleach also helps reduce any smelly odors that wilting flowers can give off as they die.