You’ve just got a bouquet or floral arrangement home. Maybe it was delivered (wrapped or in water), or you picked the flowers up at a florist or even the grocery store. So you’re wondering how best to prepare and display the flowers to extend their life. The good news is that keeping flowers fresh for as long as possible is fairly straightforward.
As soon as you have the flowers at home you remove them from the wrap, or remove them from the water they’re currently in. You will cut about an inch, maybe even a little bit more, off the bottom of the stems. Cut at approximately a 45 degree angle not straight across, why? Because flowers take up water through the stem, and cutting at an angle gives a greater area for the flower to absorb water through. Use a sharp knife or sharp shears that last thing you want to do is to crush the stem; you want a nice clean through cut. While you’re doing this, also be sure to strip any foliage that will be in or under water all you want in the water is the stem, no buds or leaves. Leaves in the water will contribute to rot, and shorten the lifetime of your flowers.
