Keep Your Valentine's Day Flowers Alive Longer

UrbanStems
Courtesy of Kayla Kitts

Hi Friends,

Keep your flowers lasting longer and fuller with these pro tips.

Buy Local
Start with where you buy your flowers; the closer you can get to the day they were cut, the longer they'll last. So try to buy directly from the farm, if possible.

Snip, Snip
As soon as your flowers get home, re-cut them, snipping about half an inch from the bottom of the stems, and put them in fresh water. Re-cut your stems every other day, and change the water to keep them well hydrated.

Eat Up
Add flower food (most florists will include flower food with your order) to the vase. If you don't have any flower food, you can easily make your own.

Homemade Flower Food

• 1 quart water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• splash of bleach

Shade, Baby
Growing plants love light, but cut flowers hate it. Keep your flowers out of direct light — both sunlight and artificial — to keep them looking fresh for longer.

Open Up
But if you have, for instance, two dozen tight roses, and you want to make them look fuller for Valentine's Day, re-cut them and put them in very warm water. Change the water when it cools, and repeat the process until the roses begin to open. Warm water and heat encourage flowers to open, which will make your Valentine's Day flowers even more impressive. Just be sure to re-cut your stems every time you give them fresh water.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

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Live well,
Yvonne