Just a little bit of TLC goes a long way get more enjoyment and life from your flowers by following a few simple steps:

When receiving subscription flowers 

  • Make sure your buckets vases and vases are scrupulously clean!
  • Always start with a clean vase & clean fresh water.
  • One of the worst unseen enemies to fresh cut flowers is bacteria. Bacteria and fungi are everywhere, they are ready and waiting to enter the cut stem and multiply. Before you        notice decay symptoms, the cells in the stems can become blocked with microorganisms, thus preventing the best water intake.

When the flower is growing its root system takes care of the filtering and cleansing when its cut it needs our help.

 Your Vases

  • Fill them one third full to half full
  • Use luke- warm clean water as most flowers take up moisture in warm water more efficiently than cold.
  • Add the “flower food sachet “flower food”, will increase the life of your cut flowers   It’s an especially formulated mix of sugars (for Flowers not humans) and a balanced mixtures of what your flowers need once cut.
  • Don’t be tempted to overdo the dosage use a home recipe or folklore to “help things    along” as this can cause more trouble that the perceived worth of doing it, even good clean water would sometimes be better.
  • Re-cut the  flower stems at an angle removing at least on inch of the stem, cut with good sharp cutters , the angle  cut  will make the surface area of the stem a bigger area  for the stem to take up water and flower food, it also prevents the stem from sitting flat against the bottom of the vase or bucket, when it sits flat it can’t get as much water uptake.
  • Remove all leaves that will be below the water line in the container . Leaves sitting in water will deteriorate and rot. Decaying leaves will reduce the life of your flowers.
  • Don’t remove all leaves from the stem, the flowers require the leaves as part of their water uptake, and will look better with a bit of natural foliage.
  • Always be “gentle” during the removal of leaves, rips or nicks in the stem surface are “open wounds” where bacteria can enter.
  • Check the water level daily and replenish as needed. If the water becomes cloudy, it should be completely exchanged for fresh, and the vase really well cleaned.

For the longest vase life after your flowers are arranged, it is recommended that every three days, you re-cut the flower stems,  rinse the lower portion of the stems to clean them, clean the vase, and add new floral preservative / food and water solution in the vase.( 2nd sachet).

The Do’s and Dont’s Of Fresh Flower Care

Do’s:

  • Always uses a clean vase and good clean water.
  • Always use the fresh flower food provided.
  • Always re-cut your flowers before they go in the vase.
  • Always remove the leaves below the water line.
  • Always check the water daily and top it up.
  • Remove any flowers that older or finished, this helps to keep the remaining flowers looking fresh, and feeling good.

 

Dont’s

  • Never use a “homemade” substitute for flower food such as aspirin, soda pop, or bleach.
  • Never remove all foliage from the stem
  • Never place your flowers with or near fresh fruit or cigarette smoke as both produce ethylene gas which will shorten flower life.
  • Never place flowers in direct sunlight, near a heater or open fire, or near any other source of excessive heat.
  • Never use flower food in crystal or metal containers as the acid in the flower food will react with metal (including the lead in crystal vases.)