Making the Cut
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| Photo Credit: Lane Greer |
| Who can resist such colorful flower displays? Europeans still purchase more cut flowers than Americans, but with easy access to more flowers at farmers’ markets, that could change. |
If you’re like me, you enjoy wonderful cut flowers from local farmers’ markets. Unlike florists and grocery stores, however, most cut flower growers don’t offer packets of preservative with every sale. Why are preservatives important? They can add days to the life of a bouquet – sometimes even doubling the vase life. If your latest flower purchase doesn’t have that “plant food” packet attached, don’t worry. There are some easy home remedies that work well to make cut flowers last longer.
A good preservative needs three things: something to lower the pH of tap water (called an acidifier), something to kill bacteria and sugar (yes, plain ol’ table sugar). Commercial preservatives usually contain these ingredients, in varying formulations. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Lane Greer | | The vase water on the left is cloudy and needs to be changed. Most commercial preservatives provide clear vase water, as seen on the right. |
For an acidifier, citric acid is readily available and cheap. It’s present in citrus fruits (like lemons, limes and oranges), but these juices color the vase water. Lemon-lime beverages such as Sprite® and 7-Up® are colorless and contain not only citric acid, but sugar, too (don’t use the diet forms!), so you can kill two birds with one stone. What’s more, you can even use these beverages after they’ve gone flat, since carbonation is not important in maintaining flowers.
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| Warnings |
- Experiment with making your own preservatives, but be aware that many ingredients and combinations can leave you with dead flowers. (For example, using more than 1 tablespoon of vinegar is detrimental, no matter how it’s combined.)
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| Facts |
- The pH scale ranges from 0 (battery acid) to 14 (basic; liquid drain cleaner is an example). A pH of 7.0 is neutral, and most tap water ranges from pH 6.5 to 8.0.
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| Tips |
- For long-last arrangements, use long-lived flowers such as lilies and statice. Foliage like leatherleaf fern outlives most flowers.
- Use glass vases, since preservatives can’t interact with them like they do with metal vases.
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| Definitions |
- Acidifier: Added to vase life to lower pH; cut flowers take up acidic water more easily than higher pH water.
- Citric acid: Present in citrus fruits and lemon-lime beverages; pure citric acid has a pH of about 3.0.
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