How to Preserve Fresh Flowers>>>

Wouldn't it be fantastic if you could preserve fresh flowers and keep them around longer? Here is what works and does not work.

1. Bleach

The theory behind this method of preserving fresh flowers is the bleach prevents mold from growing on the flowers which will eventually kill them. The recommendation is to add around a capful of bleach to the water will keep your flowers fresh and perky. Does it work? Experiments have shown it does keep the flowers alive longer, but the color tends to fade due to the effects of the bleach.

2. Aspirin

The thought here is the acidic nature of the aspirin increases the acidity of the water which helps to preserve the flowers. The recommendation is one aspirin tablet dropped into the vase with the flowers. I tried this procedure at home and found it didn't make a difference in their longevity.

3. Adding a Penny

This would seem to be an inexpensive way to preserve your fresh flowers. The theory is that adding a penny to the water acts as a fungicide and antibacterial. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to hold true in practice.

4. Sugar

The idea is the addition of one teaspoon of sugar will mimic the rush of sugar that occurs naturally in plants during the process of photosynthesis. Studies have shown this does promote longevity of the fresh flowers, plus it's a pretty simple and inexpensive solution.

5. Changing the water

The idea is that changing the water every 2 days will prevent bacterial overgrowth which can cause the flowers to die prematurely. This does appear to be an effective technique for prolonging the life of your fresh flowers.

6. Avoiding direct sunlight and avoid extremes in temperature.

This is another effective method of prolonging the life of your fresh flowers. When I've used this technique on my own flowers, I've noticed they retained their freshness for several additional days.

7. Flower food