Valentine’s Day flowers care advice

When you receive Valentine’s Day flowers, you want to make sure that they last as long as possible. While fresh blooms will not last forever, the good news is that there are steps you can take to help them look their best for longer. Here are steps that you should follow if you want to hang on to those romantic flowers.

Remove the packaging

Before you begin, make sure that you remove the packaging carefully. You might need to cut and string or ribbons holding the stems together. Take care not to damage any of your Valentine’s Day flowers in the process. Once the packaging is out of the way, you can then spread the stems out and move on to the next step.

Trim the stems

While the stems are trimmed by your florist, it’s important to give them another snip to ensure that they have a fresh surface for absorption. A clean surface allows water and nutrients to flow freely up the stem and this ensures a longer life for your Valentine’s Day flowers. So, take a sharp pair of scissors or knife and cut them at an angle. You want an angle because this will make the surface area larger while preventing the stem from resting flat on the bottom of the vase. While you’re at it, you can also trim any lower leaves that will end up inside the vase. There is no point in crowding the vase and you also do not want any additional plant material in the water. The more plant material in the vase water, the faster bacteria will grow and the sooner your flowers will perish.

Fresh water

Now that your flowers are prepared, it’s time to ready your vase. Make sure that it is clean and undamaged before you add water and that essential flower food. Flower food is great because it provides your blooms with nutrients and it also helps control the pH of the vase water which slows the growth of bacteria.

Choose a spot

Once you have all of your fresh blooms arranged, it’s time to select the perfect spot for your vase. The only things to be careful of include direct sunlight, wind, sources of heat or cold and direct contact with glass such as a window. All of these factors will shorten the lifespan of your Valentine’s Day flowers so they are best avoided.

Regular care

You can rest assured that your blooms will be just fine for at least a couple of days. The main concern to look out for is murky or cloudy vase water. Dirty water needs to be cleaned out right away and you should trim the stems too if they are slimy. The slimy feeling is bacteria that clogs the stems. Remove any dead or dying plant material from the bouquet since they emit a kind of gas that causes fresh flowers to perish prematurely. If the bouquet becomes significantly smaller with just a few stems remaining, you can remove them and place them in a smaller vase.

If you have ordered Valentine’s Day flowers for your partner or spouse and you have them delivered the day before, you need to store them properly. Place them in water right away and keep them in a cool (not cold) place. Avoid storing flowers in your car or garage where the temperature of the room is not regulated. Also, you should not keep them in a room that gets particularly hot.