It’s time to fill your house with flowers! They’re so beautiful…but once cut, they have woefully short lives. Here are a few ways you can help your cut flowers last longer…
Most tap water contains minerals that make it alkaline. And alkaline water has a hard time moving through cut flower stems. This means that cut flowers in your tap water do not get the hydration or nutrition they need to thrive.
Share your 7UP: To overcome this alkaline challenge, simply lower the pH of the water…or acidify it. You can do this by adding one part nondiet lemon–lime soda (such as Sprite or 7UP) to three parts water in your flower vase. The citric acid in the soda helps lower the pH, and the sugar in the soda gives the flowers an energy boost.
Stir up a cut-flower cocktail: Combine a few drops of bleach or a clear liquor, such as vodka or gin, with a crushed vitamin C tablet. The bleach or liquor fights bacterial growth and the vitamin C lowers the pH so that the water can move up the stems faster, preventing wilting.
Thanks to ConsumerReports.org for help with these tips.
