Mistakes to avoid with Mother’s Day blooms

When you receive a beautiful bouquet of Mother’s Day blooms, you most likely want to do everything in your power to keep them fresh for as long as possible. With so much misinformation out there, we see many people making the same mistakes when it comes to cut flower care. Here are some of the top mistakes to avoid.

Damaged stems

While your Mother’s Day blooms will require a trim when they arrive, you should avoid crushing, smashing or piercing the stems. Damaged stems do not absorb water as efficiently and they will wilt sooner rather than later. Always use a sharp knife or pair of scissors when cutting stems.

Fruit and flowers

While your beautiful bouquet of Mother’s Day blooms might look amazing beside the fruit bowl, this is not where they should be displayed. Many types of fruit, bananas in particular, are known for releasing a certain gas into the air. This gas causes other fruit and flowers to ripen (or spoil) faster. While bananas are a great partner for unripe avocados, you don’t want to place fruit and flowers too close to one another.

Ventilation

While a well-ventilated room is great, you don’t want your Mother’s Day blooms to be exposed to wind. So, keep your blooms in a cosy corner where they will not be blown away. At the same time, you should be careful of sunlight, air conditioners and sources of heat too.

Mixing it up with daffodils

Daffodils or narcissi are notorious for emitting latex into the vase water. So, if you pair them with other flowers, they can actually kill the other blooms. There are, however some ways around this. You can use special bulb cut flower food to protect your other blooms and you can place them in a bucket of water on their own for 12 hours before adding them to the bouquet of Mother’s Day blooms. Check with your florist if you are unsure. Also, you should not re-cut these stems as you would other flower stems since it will allow the latex substance to flow into the vase water.

With these handy tips in mind, you can really make the most of your Mother’s Day blooms and enjoy them for that much longer. These tips are not only for Mother’s Day flowers but, in fact, they apply to all cut flower arrangements. The better you care for your flowers, the longer they will last.