With these few tricks, you can keep your Valentine's Day bouquets fresh until month's end -- plenty of time to smell the roses.
• Start with a clean, dry vase
• Partially fill vase with lukewarm water -- there's less oxygen in it, and it helps prevent air bubbles in the stems that will block water uptake. (Exceptions are spring bulb flowers like daffodils and tulips, which prefer cold water.)
• Mix in proper amounts of flower food, which keeps bacteria at bay, encourages buds to open and lengthens bouquet life. (For roses, change water and mix new flower food every other day.)
• Strip all leaves that would fall below the water level.
• In a bucket, immerse stems in several inches of lukewarm water. While stems are under water, cut off one inch at a 45 degree angle using a sharp knife or shears. This gives the stem a bigger area to take up more water, and it keeps it from resting on the bottom of the vase and sealing itself. By cutting stems under water, flowers absorb water rather than oxygen. Pockets of air in the rose head can cause drooping and premature death.
• Immediately transfer trimmed roses to the vase.
TO PROLONG FLOWER LIFE
• Avoid direct sunlight, heat or drafts. Generally, the cooler the room, the longer flowers last, but use common sense -- flowers such as orchids are susceptible to low temperatures.
• Keep flowers away from ripening fruit and remove faded flowers as they occur. These exude ethylene gas, which speeds deterioration of flowers around them.
• Top off with lukewarm water regularly and add flower food in proportion.
• Remove one or two outer rose petals when necessary to improve appearance.
COMMON MISTAKES THAT SHORTEN BOUQUET LIFE
• Don't smash or pierce stems. This destroys the water vessels and inhibits water uptake.
• Let daffodils be loners. They emit latex from their stems when cut, also known as 'daffodil slime,' which is toxic to other flowers. Keep daffodils alone in a vase, or use special cut flower food that makes them safe to mix with other flowers.
• Copper coins, aspirin, lemonade or bleach in the water are popular tricks to feed flowers but they can't do it adequately. Ask your florist for a packet of flower food.
• Dirty water provides a perfect breeding ground for microscopic bacteria, which block water flow to flower heads. Change the vase water regularly and add the correct proportion of flower food each time.
• Metal containers can cause reactions with many flower preservatives and diminish effectiveness. Choose glass or ceramic containers.
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-- Homes & Gardens of the Northwest staff