Having flowers in your home is a fabulous way to bring a pop of colour and life into your space. However, if you’re not storing them correctly, these beautiful blooms can look lacklustre in days, by wilting or dying. If you struggle to keep your flowers fresh, don’t fret.
Alex Biggart, flower expert and Brand Manager at 123 Flowers, has shared his top tips for keeping your arrangements looking their best for as long as possible. His first tip to keep your bouquets beautiful is to store them in a place which might not have occurred to you – in your fridge.
He said: “Cool temperatures slow down how quickly your flowers open and then bloom. This technique is particularly useful for peonies, which often arrive in bud.
“Putting your flowers in the fridge overnight can extend your flowers lifespan by a few days as long as there are no fresh fruits in there. Fruit that releases ethylene gas can accelerate flower decay.”
His second tip might seem simple, but it’s frequently overlooked. Alex said it is crucial to keep the vase you display your flowers in clean – and one addition to the water will prolong your blooms even further.
He said: “Start with a clean vase and replace the water every two to three days. You can also add bleach into the water to keep germs at bay.
“I know that seems a little extreme but a quarter of a teaspoon is all you need to kill any bacteria that could dull your blooms prematurely.”
Alex also shared some great ideas for how to make your flower displays stand out. Rather than chucking all your flowers into a vase and letting them splay at random, you can use tape to get a gorgeous arrangement.
He said: “Use a waterproof tape to create a grid-like pattern at the top of your vase. The little squares produced will support your stems, keeping your flowers in place and prevent drooping.”
Another styling tip is to create a sense of scale by cutting some of your blooms shorter than others to make your arrangement more interesting.
Alex recommended: “ A general rule of thumb is for every one or two bigger blooms, have two to three smaller stems, too. But you can play with your own arranging techniques.”
