Floral bouquets and arrangements are always popular at Thanksgiving, but cut flowers are so readily available, and often so reasonably priced, you should plan to make them part of your winter decor regardless of whether it's a special holiday.
Choosing Cut Flowers
Some stores offer sprays of small orchids, stems of fragrant lilies, alstroemerias, and other unusual flowers. But most often you'll find roses, chrysanthemums and carnations along with babysbreath, statice, and stems of leatherleaf fern.
For sheer longevity, choose mini-carnations. They come in a wide array of colors, and many share the same spicy scent found in some large carnations. Mums – including daisies – should also last for two or three weeks before deteriorating. Roses are much shorter-lived, but for most people, nothing else compares.
Regardless of which cut flowers you buy, you can extend their good looks with some simple techniques.
Extend the Life of Cut Flowers
Flowers bought from a florist or cut in your garden don't have to be here today and gone tomorrow. You can extend their vaselife with a little special care.
Cut garden flowers early in the morning or late in the evening, when they are crisp with water. During the heat of the day, they lose water through transpiration faster than their roots can replace it and may be wilted.
Select flowers that are not yet in full bloom or past it, and cut them with a sharp knife or shears. Avoid tearing or smashing the stems since this can interfere with water uptake.
Carry a container of warm water to the garden and place flowers in it immediately after cutting. Cut flower stems exposed to the air tend to get air bubbles in the passages through which water moves. These bubbles may block the uptake of water. Leave flowers in the warm water for about two hours before arranging them so they can take up as much water as they can hold. If you must keep them a while longer, place them in fresh warm water and set them in the refrigerator. Remove excess foliage and cover them with plastic or paper to slow water loss.
Always use a clean container for cut flower arrangements. Previously used vases may contain bacteria that will quickly multiply and block the water-conducting tubes of the flower stems. Remove foliage below the water line. Foliage decaying in the water hastens the demise of the flowers by contributing to the bacterial buildup.
Add a commercial flower preservative or some Seven-Up and a few drops of chlorine bleach to the water if possible. Either of these provides some food, in the form of sugar, and inhibits bacterial growth.
When you buy cut flowers, recut the stems, removing 1/2 to 1 inch, and place the flowers in warm water. Then treat them as outlined above.
Any cut flower arrangement will last longer if it's kept cool. Place it where it won't be exposed to direct sun, heat from appliances or electric lights, or hot or cold drafts. If possible, move it to a cool spot or place it in the refrigerator at night. Both heat and moving air take moisture from the flowers at an accelerated rate.
Keep your flowers in a clear vase so you can tell easily if the water begins to look cloudy. Clean the vase with soapy water, then refill it with a mix of lukewarm water and floral preservative. Re-cut the stems to remove any discolored portions; they should be good for several more days.