How to buy fresh flowers and save them longer?

Flowers are an indispensable attribute of any holiday, which immediately creates the right mood for us. They delight the eye, fill the room with its delicate aroma and invariably make us smile. It is nice to receive flowers for everyone as a gift and it is equally nice to give them, but buying flowers is not only interesting but also responsible enough if you want your bouquet to stand for as long as possible. The secret of a beautiful bouquet, which will remain fresh for a long time, consists of two components:

• The first is the freshness of each flower
• The second is the right storage conditions

Buying fresh flowers is not difficult, but how to choose the most recent ones?

• Pay attention to the stem – it should not be too dry. A very good sign of freshness when buying flowers, and in particular roses, is the presence of a so-called “shirt” or “shirt sheet.” These lowest, thicker and coarse petals grow at the pedicel and seem to embrace a half-opened bud. Often, sellers remove these petals to give the rose a more aesthetic appearance, so the absence of a “shirt” is not at all evidence of a “second freshness” of the flower.
• The degree of bud opening is another important indicator of whether your bouquet will become “one-day” or will please your eyes for a long time. It is best to choose half-opened fresh flowers, to buy a fully open bud can be tempting – it’s so beautiful, but the life of such a flower is much less.
• The elasticity of the petals is one of the main signs that the flower is fresh. If you gently bend the petal of such a flower, it will easily return to its place and take its previous form. In plants “not the first freshness,” the petals look weak, sluggish, perhaps slightly withered; they hardly return to their place and often fall asleep at any touch.
• The absence of any artificial ornaments on the bud – the living flowers are beautiful in themselves and in most cases, fresh flowers will not be adorned additionally without your wishes. And if you see that there is a ruffle of bright foil around the bud, or other decorations (not ordered by you) – most likely this is a way to divert attention from the main thing – freshness.

How to keep the freshness of a bouquet? The best way to save fresh flowers is to buy and immediately put them in a vase, without leaving for long without water. Some more tips that can prolong the life of a bouquet.

• Avoid sudden temperature changes. If the bouquet is purchased in the winter, do not rush to bring flowers from the frost into the house – leave them for a few minutes in the vestibule or in the hallway, where it is slightly cooler. Also make sure that on the way to the destination flowers are reliably sheltered from the wind, snow, frosty air and other adverse effects.
• Treat the stems before putting the flowers in the vase. As a rule, when buying flowers, the stems will be cut by the seller, but in order for the bouquet to get the required amount of moisture, it is better to repeat this procedure again. For flowers with a soft, thick stalk, an oblique cut is preferable: the thicker the stem of a flower, the longer the cut must be. Plants with a hard, arborescent stalk (for example, lilac branches) require the following treatment: the stem must be broken off or cut, and the ends split with a knife.
• Remove the lower leaves – both dried and fresh. The fact is that the lower leaves, being underwater, are easily susceptible to decay. They will not only spoil your pleasure from the bouquet, creating an unpleasant smell but will also become the breeding ground for putrefactive bacteria.
• For each flower, the “right” neighbors are important. Do not put in one vase: daffodils and lilies, carnations and roses, lilies of the valley and tulips. The neighborhood of red roses, lilies of the valley and rhododendrons do not withstand most plants. But the twig is a great way to turn any bouquet into an enviable “long-lived”. Do not forget about such tools as a pinch of sugar for roses, tulips, lilacs, carnations.

In the end, let the live flowers add bright colors to your holidays and weekdays!