Different flowers wilt at different rates, but the secret to long-lasting blooms starts as soon as they’re brought home.
There are several steps to consider, including cutting stems and finding the appropriate plant feed. Other vital factors often get overlooked, however.
To keep blooms in a near-original shape, special attention should be paid to where you place your vase, a gardening expert has warned.
Julian de Bosdari, CEO of UK plant nursery Ashridge, compiled his top tips to prolong the vase life of plants, claiming that certain fruits will cause them to perish prematurely.
Certain varieties of flowers wilt more quickly than others
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By the time flowers have reached your home, they'll already have endured a lot of stress from the shipping process.
To minimise further discomfort, flowers should be placed as far away as possible from other environmental stressors, such as sunlight, bananas or apples.
Bosdari noted: “Make sure to keep flowers away from the fruit bowl, as ripening fruit such as bananas and apples produce an odourless gas called ethylene, which causes flowers to age and drop petals more quickly.”
Fruit is more likely to wreak havoc on sensitive plants, which will begin to reveal their buds or drop their leaves.
Ensuring that vase water is clean and stems are cut at an angle will also encourage water uptake and delay wilting.
This is because the ends of stems dry out once they've been picked. Not only can this encourage a bacteria build-up, but it can also hinder the rate at which the plants absorb water.
What's more, cut flower bouquets have their stems pre-cut but they are likely to have closed up by the time you purchase them.
“The very first thing you should do with your bouquet is make sure you have a clean vase to place them in,” noted Bosdari.
“Vases with narrow openings are typically harder to clean and are prone to trapping bacteria, which can contaminate the water and cause flowers to age and decompose quicker.”
Cutting the stem at an angle ensures the stem's area is always exposed to water.
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Ethylene gas released by fruit can speed up the ripening process
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“It’s important to trim half an inch off each stem at a 45-degree angle using a clean knife or pair of sharp scissors, before setting your flowers in a vase," explained Bosdari.
“Cutting the stems diagonally maximises the surface area for water absorption, allowing your flowers to stay more hydrated.
“Make sure to trim the stems of your flowers every couple of days to allow flowers the best chance of absorbing water."
Even if a flower is prone to wilting, its lifespan can be prolonged by several days when prepared following all these steps.