CUT FLOWER PRESERVATIVE #3

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image



Cut Flower Preservative #3 image

I stumbled across this recipe for making your own flower preservative on About.com today. TIPS: To keep your cut flowers fresh you need to give them water & food, protect them from decay or infection plus keep them cool and out of direct sunlight. Try to keep your flowers away from ripe fruit as the gases will shorten their life. Keep them in a cool area and away from direct sunlight. Flowers with milky latex-containing sap such as poinsettia, heliotrope, hollyhock, euphorbia and poppy need special treatment The milky sap prevents water loss by the stem but in cut flowers it prevents the absorption of water. To prevent this problem dip the bottom tips (--1/2 inch) of the stems in boiling water for about 30 seconds or by flashing the tips of the stems with a lighter or other flame.

Provided by Dreamer in Ontario

Categories     Household Cleaner

Time 5m

Yield 1 quart

Number Of Ingredients 4

2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon bleach, household
1 quart warm water (tap water ok but if it's high in salts and fluorides distilled is better)

Steps:

  • Discard decaying leaves & flowers and any foliage which would be below the water line plus any unnecessary leaves.
  • Trim bottom ends of flower stems by cutting on an angle to maximize the surface area for water and to prevent the ends from resting flat on the bottom of the vase.
  • Mix all 3 ingredients being sure to use warm water (100-110F or 38-40C) as it will move up the stems more effectively than cold water then add flowers.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 103.8, Sodium 20.4, Carbohydrate 25.5, Sugar 25.3

There are no comments yet!