These blooms are prized for their attractive shapes, gorgeous colors, and delightful fragrances and are used to express deepest feelings at birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and even at funerals as a sign of remembrance and respect. Therefore, one must employ strategies to prolong opportunities for enjoyment of these floral gems. Fresh cut flowers are highly perishable and tend to lose their aesthetic appeal in a relatively short time if they are not appropriately cared for. Factors responsible for these changes are both physiological and environmental. This article presents the best ways to extend the vase life of cut flowers.
Hard water contains minerals which make it alkaline.
Alkaline water does not move readily through cut flower stems and can substantially reduce vase life. One can overcome this problem by using distilled or de-ionized water or by acidifying the water. Commercial flower preservatives usually contain enough acid to acidify most hard water. As such, they lose moisture much more readily than many other perishable commodities. This micro-climate could be maintained by applying a fine mist with a squirt bottle and keeping flowers away from heated surfaces or open lights.