Fresh flowers can help bring colour and vibrancy to every room, but sometimes the flowers bought from shops may not last as long as you’d hoped. However, a cleaning and life hacks TikToker shared the two ingredients she adds to vases to keep her shop-bought flowers blooming “for weeks”.
Chantel Mila, who goes by Mama Mila on social media, explained that two store cupboard staples could be the key for long-lasting blooms. If you want to avoid using chemical products to bolster your flowers, Chantel advised using sugar and white vinegar to do the job. This is what you need to do.
When your flowers are ready to go on display, fill a vase with water and add one tablespoon of sugar to it. Then follow with two tablespoons of white vinegar to stop the growth of bacteria.
If you haven’t trimmed the stems, Chantel advised to cut the ends at a 45° angle underwater and ensure they’re fully submerged. This will prevent air from entering the stems.
Vinegar can help cut flowers last longer by inhibiting bacterial growth in the vase water.
Gardening Know How explained: “Those preserving cut flowers with vinegar are essentially lowering pH, which in turn, increases the acidity. This increase helps to create an environment that is less suitable for the growth of bacteria, which is often the culprit in the speed of decline in freshness of the flowers.”
Vinegar should be used in conjunction with another ingredient, and never by itself. Gardening Know How explained that the ratios of vinegar will vary, but most agree that roughly two tablespoons each of vinegar and dissolved sugar should be used for each one-quart vase.
Sugar is particularly important for keeping flowers alive. As soon as flowers are cut, they immediately begin to lose out on nutrients provided by photosynthesis, according to Teleflora.
By adding sugar in the vase’s water, it dissolves and helps to continuously feed the flowers the important nutrients they need, as it draws in the water over time. However, adding sugar to flowers can come at a cost.
Teleflora explained sugar also encourages the growth of bacteria, which can cause your flowers to smell and ultimately lead to their swift decay. This is why it should be paired with vinegar to stop this growth.
