Valentine’s Day flowers – make them last

If you are lucky enough to receive a beautiful bouquet of Valentine’s Day flowers, you will want to make them last as long as possible. Flowers are known to bring us joy which means that the longer they last, the longer you will enjoy this emotional boost. The good news is that you can take certain steps to help your bouquet last longer. Here’s what you need and how to go about conditioning your bouquet.

Things you will need:

• A bouquet of beautiful Valentine’s Day flowers
• Clean, fresh water
• Flower food
• A sharp pair of scissors
• A bucket large enough to hold the bouquet
• A suitable vase

Directions:

• When your Valentine’s Day flowers are delivered, you don’t want to waste a single minute. The first thing you want to do is place them in a bucket of fresh water. This will give you extra time to search for the perfect vase.
• Once you have your vase ready, you should make sure that it is cleaned and thoroughly rinsed.
• Next, you will need to add water and flower food to the vase as per the directions on the package,
• Now you can remove the packaging from your bouquet so that you can tend to each of the stems.
• Remove each stem and trim it at an angle before placing it in the vase.
• At the same time, you should remove any lower leaves that will end up inside the vase. Removing the leaves is important because, if they end up in the water, they can accelerate the growth of bacteria. Also, your flower will lose out on some nutrients if the stem needs to keep all those leaves alive too.
• Take your time doing this with each stem until you have added them all to the vase.
• Once you have all of your stems in the vase, it is time to find the perfect spot. Place your arrangement in a safe area where it will not be bumped over. You should also avoid placing it anywhere near any sources of heat since this will dry the bouquet out.
• Remember to keep an eye on your flowers. If you notice that the water level is running low or it is turning cloudy, you should change the vase water.
• If you feel the stems and they are slimy, this indicates bacterial growth and you should trim the stems again before placing them back in fresh water in your vase.
• Should any of the flowers or foliage start to wilt, remove this stem right away. Decaying plant material releases a gas into the air that will result in otherwise healthy blooms wilting and perishing prematurely too.

With these simple tips in mind, you will get to enjoy your Valentine’s Day flowers for at least a week and a half, if not two weeks. If your bouquet becomes too small for the vase after removing several stems, you can move them to a smaller vase. Also, if any stems are damaged, you can always cut them above the break mark and create a mini bouquet in a small glass, bowl or teacup.