Cut flowers are an instant mood brightener. Pop them in a vase and put them in any corner of the room and they will bring the room alive in a jiffy. Whether it is your Valentine’s Day roses or your daily dose of sunshine that you bring home from the local florist, we all wish those precious flowers would last just a little bit longer.  Short of encasing them in wax is there any other way of preserving them just the way they are? Well, actually there is.

Your kitchen holds many DIY solutions that can keep your flowers looking fresher for long. Here are some ideas that might help you the next time someone drops a bouquet at your door:

Soda in the water

Who would have thought that the humble bottle of soda sitting in a corner in the fridge could actually do more than be a fizzy drink on a summer day? Putting a little bit of this in the water can keep your roses and other cut flowers blooming fresh for days. If you have a clear vase though, keep away from the coloured sodas and go for the clear ones instead. Oh, and don’t forget to change the water every few days!

Aspirin tablets to the rescue

Not just headaches, aspirin can also work as a magic charm with flowers. Drop a couple of tablets in vase of water and watch as those lovely blooms just soak up all the goodness. Tried and true, this method never seems to fail and most importantly, it is an easy cure for all the head and the heartache that happens when you see a bunch of flowers die too early.

Hair spray magic

Yes, you heard us. Hair spray works amazingly well on flowers too and you thought it was only meant to keep your locks in place. Stand far away from the flowers and sprintz a little hair spray on the underside of the petals and leaves and then, rest easy. Remember to spray only a little and stand far; you do not want your flowers frozen in place unlike your wayward hair strands!

Vodka and water

Again, it might sound improbable but it is actually true. Vodka helps kill the bacteria that fester in the stagnant water in the vase, and with the bacteria gone your flowers can live a much healthier and longer life. You do have to change the water every couple of days though and keep adding a little vodka and some sugar to the water every time.

Pennies for your posies

Have a bunch of coins you have been meaning to get rid of? Well, here’s an easy solution. Just drop the pennies in the vase with the flowers. The copper in the pennies will act as an acidifier and keep the bacteria at bay. Don’t drop too many of them though – it’s a vase, not a piggy bank. Also, add a cube of sugar to maintain just the right amount of nutrient balance in the water.

So the next time you are gifted a bunch, or order for flower delivery online, you can use these handy tricks to keep those blossoms from dying fast. This way you can have all the natural decor you want, and get your money’s worth too

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2015 at 4:41 am and is filed under Flowers for delivery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.