Lasting Flower Power

If you are anything like me when your garden starts coming alive with flowers and blooms, the clippers are in hand and a vase is ready and waiting with fresh water indoors.  Bringing the outdoors in is one of the most rewarding experiences that nurturing a garden has to offer.  The scent of lilacs permeating the house is one of the pure pleasures of being alive.  I start with the Forsythia and Magnolia trees and I don’t stop with a steady stream of fresh bouquets until the last ornamental grass and Winter Berry is extinguished.  It is a joy to concoct your own creations with plants plucked right out of your own yard.  I clip anything from trees to bushes to grasses and bulbs; anything that is growing is up for grabs.  In fact I keep in mind how a plant will fair as a cutting in a vase when I am shopping at the nurseries each season.  After you have selectively chosen and clipped a bouquet to bring indoors it is important do everything possible to keep that arrangement looking fresh and lasting as long as possible.

When a plant is in the earth it is being fed by water and mineral salts which are absorbed by the roots.  The process of photosynthesis transforms these raw ingredients into carbohydrates which feeds the plant and flowers.  When a plant is in the dirt it is constantly feeding the flowers that are in bloom.  Now when we cut the flower off of the mother plant we are cutting off the food supply as well.  There is no longer an upward and downward flow of the plants sap; there is only an upward flow of water from the vase.  The state of the water in the vase is crucial to a cut bouquet lasting as long as possible.  This is why most florists will provide packets of food to mix in the vase water.  These packets contain Biocide chemicals that kill the bacteria, yeasts and fungi that feed on the sap that seeps from the cut flower stem.  They also contain acid that helps the water move up the stem and sugar which acts as food.

I don’t know about most of you but I don’t have a supply of florist’s flower food in my cupboard (and I was a florist for over 5 years) but there are some options and instructions on maintaining the vase water at an optimal balance for cut flowers without the use of the florist’s food.  First is to keep all leaves out of the water.  The leaves release phenols, which when absorbed will poison the flower.  There are also home solutions like using one part lemon-lime soda (not diet) to three parts water, the soda contains both sugars and acids to act much like the packet of food from a florist.  There is a misnomer that it is important to change your vase water every few days.  This is not recommended because cut flowers at a point reach a balance in the water’s concentration of substances the flower emits.  By making regular water changes the flower has to continually seek a new balance which is exhausting for the flower and will cause it to wilt that much sooner.  Instead add to the water in the vase if you can add water with a little flower food that is ideal.

Hints for best results

• Start with a clean vase and glass vases are best, metal vases can poison the flowers.
• Use a diagonal cut when selecting your blooms, this cut does much less damage to the cells in the stem.
• Use a sharp blade that is clean for smooth severs.
• Cut flowers and plants in the morning when they are filled with stored food and flowers are most fragrant.
• Generally you should use lukewarm water, just as you would like to step into a bathtub that will not scold you or shock you, so does a flower.
• Buck the trend of lukewarm water for bulb flowers like daffodils, tulips & hyacinths, these flowers prefer it cold.
• Make the final cut under water so the flowers first “breath” is water and not air.
• For woody stemmed plants like Lilac, Forsythia & Quince take a hammer and squash the tip of the cut, this will aid in their water absorption.
• Do not de-thorn roses, it shortens their life because the flower is working hard to repair the scars of each removed thorn.
• Keep your bouquet away from the fruit bowl, the fruit gives off a hormone called ethylene which flowers find poisonous.
• Never spray your bouquet with water; this encourages the fungi on the petals and leaves to develop.
• Keep your floral creations away from the excessive heat or cold, so out of direct sunlight, and away from vents, fireplaces, televisions and radiators.
• Cut roses, irises, daffodils and gladiolas in their bud stage, while marigolds, dianthus and delphiniums should all be cut when they are fully open.
• Deadhead so that your flower isn’t using its energy feeding a wasted bloom.
• If you are leaving on a short vacation place your bouquet in the refrigerator, this will slow down its water absorption.
• Keep daffodils in their own vase, they give off a compound that is toxic to other flowers.
• Remove the anthers (pollen-covered area on the end of the stamens) on lilies, they stain the petals and essentially “signal” the flower that it is time to fade.
• Re-cut stems every few days because the flower is continually trying to repair its wounds and seal them.

Usually we think of our perennial garden when we consider cut flowers.  We look to our peonies, hydrangeas, tulips, lilies, phlox and so on, but, there are some annuals that make wonderful cut flowers as well.  The University of Massachusetts compiled the following list.

Annuals for Cutting

• Ageratum ‘Blue Horizon’ – A nice moderately sized blue flower.
• Snapdragon ‘Rocket’ series – This series was developed for outdoor growing.
• Lace Flower – A good alternative to Baby’s Breath it has white flowers that resemble a snowflake.
• Aster – A spray type flower that makes a good filler.
• Cockscomb – They resemble a velvet brain and come in a rainbow of bright colors.  One of my personal favorites.
• Marigold – A hedge-type plant that resists wind and rain damage.
• Zinnia ‘Sunrise’ series – Pom pom type flowers in a wide array of colors.
• Larkspur – A tall linear flower that comes in blues, pink and white.

Enjoy bringing the outdoors inside this year, relish in your own ability to not only grow the plants but in putting together stunning bouquets to brighten up the home.  Sharpen those shears and get to cutting.

Sources:

www.womenslife.co.za

www.plantea.com

www.umass.edu

www.extension.umn.edu