Keeping Your Flowers Fresh

Once you've got the flowers of your choice, the next step is keeping them fresh and fragrant. By following a few simple guidelines this can be easily achieved.

Buy the freshest flowers available. Look for tight buds and shiny leaves; avoid nodding or browning blossoms.

Use a sharp knife or shears to cut stems on a slant under running water.

Place freshly cut flowers in a deep container of warm water and let them sit at room temperature before arranging.

Remove all foliage from under the waterline.

Add a preservative to the water to kill fungus.

Place your arrangement in a cool spot away from direct sunlight.

Change the water every other day. If the blooms look wilted, recut the stems.

Cover wilting blooms with a thin film of plastic, a paper sack or a newspaper until plump again.


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