What Works for Preserving Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers can be so beautiful, but they don’t last for very long before they become limp and lackluster. The good news is there are ways to preserve your fresh flowers so they’ll last longer and keep your home looking colorful. Some methods for preserving flowers work well, while others don’t live up to their claims.

Here are some methods for preserving fresh flowers that work and some that don’t:

1. Aspirin

   Aspirin is thought to increase the acidity of the water your flowers are placed in which helps to keep them fresh longer. To use aspirin to keep your flowers fresh, drop one tablet into the vase. Experimentation shows this method doesn’t work well.

2. Add a Penny

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   It has been claimed that adding a penny to your flower water preserves flowers by acting as an antibacterial and fungicide. Although this method is quick and inexpensive, it doesn’t appear to work well in practice.

3. Bleach

   Bleach is though to preserve fresh flowers by preventing the growth of mold on the flowers. It’s recommended that a cup of bleach be added to the water in your flower vase to keep flowers perky and fresh. Experimentation has shown this does seem to prolong the life of fresh flowers, but causes some color fading.

4. Changing the Water

   This method of preserving fresh flowers is thought to prevent bacteria from overgrowing in the water causing the flowers to die prematurely. This is a technique that appears to live up to its claims.

5. Sugar

   The idea here is the addition of a teaspoon of sugar will mimic the rush of sugar that occurs naturally in plants during the process of photosynthesis. Studies have shown this does promote the lifespan of fresh flowers.

6. Preventing Temperature Changes and Avoidance of Direct Sunlight

   This is another method that appears to work in preserving the freshness of flowers. This can expand the life of fresh flowers by several days.

7. Commercial Flower Food

   This seems to be the most effective way to preserve fresh flowers. How does it work? The ingredients in flower food help to reduce the concentration of bacteria in the water, keep the water acidic, and supply the flowers with sugar. By adding commercial flower food to the vase, you may be able to keep your flowers fresh for a full week.

If you want to keep your flowers fresh and bright for a longer period of time, choose your methods wisely. It appears that the use of commercial flower food and taking simple measures to keep your flowers out of direct sunlight and away from extreme temperatures works the best. If you don’t have flower food available, adding sugar to the water and changing the water frequently can help to keep flowers fresh longer.

Preserving your fresh flowers can keep those beautiful colors around longer and give you the psychological boost you need.