5 Tips to keep Cut Flowers Fresh Longer – Frugal tips and hints

A beautiful bouquet of flowers is a real treat! It brightens your home, and adds a lovely splash of the outdoors into your indoor space. You don’t need a special occasion to splurge on flowers, since they are a real pick-me-up any time of year. And those beautiful blooms are especially appreciated once the garden is finished for the year – which here in Canada comes quite quickly! So, how do you make beautiful fresh cut flowers last even longer? You know that here at BargainBlog we’re about making every Canadian nickel stretch further…so here are our best tips for flowers! And look at the end of the article for our favourite tip on finding cut flowers for 50% off!

1. Spray them lightly with water

Mist them – That’s right! Simply use a spray bottle set on a fine mist setting, and spray the flowers with water morning and night. We were recently watching an old episode of Escape to the Country (Find it for free on YouTube – it is one of our favourite shows!) and a flower arranging expert said that this was his best tip! Just be sure to use a bottle that hasn’t had any chemicals in it before, or if it did, be sure to wash it out very thoroughly with hot water and dish soap. Fill with cool tap water (filtered water would be even better) and spray those blossoms and blooms every morning and night. The floral expert said it could help make your floral bouquets last up to five days longer! Wow!

2. Cut flower stems properly

I think most people who love flowers will have learned this a long time ago. But, if you’re new to buying flower bouquets, you might not know. Trimming the stems of flowers and other greenery that comes with the flowers will help it to stay fresh and beautiful a lot longer! Use a sharp pair of kitchen shears or scissors. Cut off an inch or two from the bottom of the stem, and cut at a 45 degree angle. Rather than cutting straight across (a 90 degree angle), the 45 degree angle allows exposes more surface area of the bottom of the stem. Exposed to what? The water of course! And if your flowers are able to drink in more water, they’ll simply last longer.

3. Use the flower food enclosed in the bouquet

If you bought your bunch of flowers from a florist, then it’ll often have a little packet of flower food enclosed within the folds of wrapping paper. Use it! People sometimes ask: ‘Does that flower food really work?’ Yes, it does! Simply sprinkle the packet of flower food into the water in the vase before adding your flowers.

Do you wonder what’s actually IN that flower food? Interestingly, the packets usually contain a combination of sugar, an acidic component, and bleach in a powdered form – all ingredients that will help your flowers look their best.

4. Add Fresh Water – AKA Change the water

People often forget that – just like our pets – flowers really enjoy a slurp of fresh water, rather than a stale, days-old drink! With that in mind, you can change the water your flowers are sitting in. (Also be sure to pluck off any greenery, such as leaves, that are below the water level. It can cause mold to grow!) Cool tap water or filtered water is ideal. You can change the water daily, if possible, or at least every couple of days.

5. Refrigerate your flowers

Florists use this tip constantly – that’s why their beautiful creations and luxurious bouquets are stored behind glass in a refrigerator. You can do the same at home! Granted, you’ll need a rather large fridge to pull this off. (We do not have this! haha Our fridge would be swamped if we put a bouquet of flowers in it.) If you have a monster sized fridge, then simply pop your bouquet of cut flowers in the fridge at night. It’ll keep the flowers fresh and lovely a lot longer. Then when you wake up in the morning, display them as you had them before. Voila!

We hope these fun tips have helped inspire you to keep those lovely blossoms fresh and beautiful for longer. When you spend the money on a nice bouquet of flowers, then you really do want them to last! If you have other tips on extending the life of cut flowers, please let us know.

Find Cut Flowers and Bouquets at 50% off

P.S. Bargain Finders Tip: I’ve often found stunning flowers at the supermarket marked down at 50% or more! So, if you want to treat yourself to some flowers around your home, check the floral department at your favourite grocery store. You could even ask when the flowers are reduced, and time your grocery shopping trips to match the markdowns. Yes! Floral beauty at a much cheaper cost.

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