5 Things Your Florist Won’t Tell You

With Valentine’s Day coming up fast, there’s love in the air and the sweet scent of flowers is soon to follow. That’s because people everywhere will soon be flocking to florists to order beautiful bouquets for the ones they love. Before you join them, however, you should know that there are plenty of things that your local florist isn’t going to tell you while you choose just the right mixture of blooms for your beloved.

It’s easy to understand why. After all, florists are businesses – and they need to keep some tricks of the trade to themselves to keep customers returning again and again. If you’ve ever wondered what those secrets are, you’re in the right place. Here are five things from https://www.littleflowerhut.com.sg/ that your florist won’t tell you when you make a purchase this Valentine’s Day.

1. Never Use Scissors to Trim Stems

If you ask anyone who’s ever given or received flowers what they do before putting them into a vase, there’s a good chance they’ll tell you they clip the ends of the stems to keep them alive a bit longer. What they likely don’t know, though, is that you should never use a pair of scissors to do the job.

Instead, you should cut the stems with a sharp, non-serrated knife (a paring knife works perfectly). Also, you should always cut at a 45-degree angle with the stems submerged in water so the stems won’t draw in air when they’re cut. Doing this will extend the life of your flowers significantly.

2. It’s Easy to Spot A Freshly-Cut Rose

While most people choose roses by looking at the quality of the bloom, that’s only a part of what they should be doing. The other part is making sure that the roses haven’t been sitting around long before you purchase them.

After all, you wouldn’t want the person receiving them to end up with a dead bouquet the day after Valentine’s Day, would you? To make sure the roses you buy are fresh, squeeze each rose right at the base of the flower (called the hypanthium). If it’s firm, the flower is in good shape. If it’s soft – you’d better choose another.

3. You Can Make Your Own Preservative

Roses are almost always sold with a little packet of powder that’s meant to keep them fresh for a bit longer when added to the water in a vase. The problem is that the one packet you get is nowhere near enough if you plan to change the water frequently (as you should – every other day). The good news is that there are plenty of DIY alternatives that work just as well. They include:

• Soda – As odd as it might sound, adding a ¼ cup of clear soda (Sprite, 7UP, etc.) to the water in a vase keeps flowers going strong for days. The reason is that the sugar acts as a food for the blooms and the citric acid makes the pH of the water perfect for most types of flowers.
• Apple Cider Vinegar and Sugar – Just as with the soda, adding 2 tablespoons each of apple cider vinegar and sugar to your vase will keep your cut flowers fresh for quite a while. In this case, the vinegar inhibits bacterial growth while the sugar feeds the blooms.
• Bleach – Although you might expect bleach to kill flowers it came into contact with, the truth is that adding a ¼ teaspoon of bleach to your vase will keep the water clear and bacteria-free for days. Believe it or not, this is the secret ingredient in the packet that came with your flowers in the first place.

4. Misting Works Wonders

If you’ve ever noticed your local florist walking around their shop with a small spray bottle or atomizer and wondered if they were doing it for aesthetic purposes only – they’re not. They’re really spraying a fine water mist on the flowers because it keeps them fresh longer.

It’s because flowers can absorb water through their leaves, too, and that water reaches the flower fastest, keeping them fresh longer. Try it at home and see how much of a difference it makes.

5. As You Prune, Downsize Your Vase

If you plan to keep your flowers for as long as possible, you’ll need to re-trim the stems every three days or so. When you do, your flowers will get shorter and you’ll have to change the vase they’re in to suit them.

This is especially important for roses, which become quite top-heavy as their blooms open. A smaller vase ensures adequate support for the flowers so they won’t wilt as soon as they would otherwise.