Caring for Cut Flowers Video

 

Caring for Cut Flowers Transcript

Whether it’s a special occasion or you just want to add color and elegance to your home, cut flowers are the perfect choice. When you receive your bouquet in the mail, it’s very important to open your box as soon as possible. If you’ve ordered a vase, remove it first. If you’re using one of your own vases, make sure it’s clean. If you’re not sure if the vase is clean, wash the vase with very diluted bleach (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) tomake sure no bacteria is lingering. There’s a zip tie holding the bouquet in place. We’re going to cut that. Now we’re going to remove our bouquet form the box. It’s best not to pull on the sleeve, you may damage the flowers or stems. So we like to slice it. I’m cutting the elastic band, then we’re going to cut the sleeve just to be sure that we’re not damaging anything. Here’s our gorgeous bouquet of flowers. We’ll take our packaging, set it off to the side… The key to long-lasting, beautiful cut flowers is hydration. We’ve prepared some warm water, which is best for hydration. If you bouquet came with floral preservative, follow the directions for dilution on the back, being sure not to use too much. Put your preservative in, and be sure to mix it well. So there, we’ve mixed our preservative in, and now it’s time to cut our stems. We’re going to take our bouquet, and cut an inch or two off using very sharp scissors. Cut the stems on an angle so they can’t rest entirely on the bottom of the vase – if they do, they can’t take up water. Make sure you put your cut flowers right into the water as soon as you cut the stems. This will help them to open up and drink the water. Remove any leaves that will be below the water line because they’ll rot. A fresh bouquet will take up a lot of water in the first couple of days and become more beautiful as it does so. Check the water level daily and add water as needed. For longest vase life, replace the water every 2–3 days and recut the stems in 3–4 days. Remove older flowers as they fade, and keep your bouquet away from direct sun, drafts, and sources of heat. For more information on the bouquets available from White Flower Farm, visit our website.