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 Tips for Buying and Enjoying Cut Flowers

Posted on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 · Leave a Comment 

Tulips brighten a winter day

Winter drags on, even though the days are getting longer. The sun is often lurking behind gray clouds, and on a good day we only get about 9 hours of light. I do miss the colors of summer, so I keep fresh cut flowers on our table – even though I have to buy them.

 

Cut flowers are among modern America’s true bargains. For the price of a bottle of wine – or a couple of cups of fancy coffee – you can buy flowers that will grace your table for up to three weeks. But there are some things you should know about getting good table-life for your investment.

 

First, you need to buy fresh flowers that have been carefully tended – and you can’t beat a florist for that. A floral shop has trained personnel who trim each stem in the store every other day and change the water to keep flowers fresh. Cut flowers need to take up water to stay fresh and healthy. Stems tend to scab over after a day or two, which means they cannot take up replacement water, or not much, so they suffer.

 

Ask for locally grown flowers like these Asiatic lilies I bought recently

Here are some things you can do to promote longer vase life: cut off leaves that would enter the water in your vase. Leaves will rot, promoting growth of bacteria, which will impede water take-up. Cut off half to three quarters of an inch of each stem every few days, and change the water. Use the packets of white powder that often comes with flowers – it does help.

 

Keep your arrangement cool if you can. Putting it near a radiator or woodstove, or putting it in a sunny window will shorten its life. If you have invested in pricey roses or tulips, you may wish to move the vase to the entryway or mudroom at bedtime to keep the flowers extra cool during the night.

 

Some flowers are better picks than others if you’re on a budget and can’t afford to buy new flowers every week. Here are my recommendations for good cut flowers:

1. Lisianthus: These look like silk flowers to me: perfect white, pink or lavender-colored bell-shaped flowers on long stems. Tough to grow in the garden, they are perfect in a vase – I’ve kept them for up to 3 weeks.
2. Miniature carnations: Each stem has 2-4 blossoms. They come in a variety of colors. Mix dark red “minis” with red roses to make a bouquet of roses look fuller. And even after the roses go to Valhalla, the carnations will still be good!
3. Chrysanthemums: These come in a variety of sizes and colors, from the huge spider mums to little guys. I love the scent of the flowers –it’s not overpowering, but it’s there if you sniff them.
4. Statice. I grow these for use as dry flowers, which tells you that they really do last forever – even out of water. They come in blue, purple, pink and white.
5. 

   Alstromeria is a long lasting inexpensive cut flower

   Spray roses: Instead of a single blossom per stem, these have 2-5 blossoms, giving you more bang for your buck. These will last about a week – or even more with proper care

6. Alstromeria: One of the best for long life. Each long stem has clusters of 2-inch lily-like blossoms in pinks and reds, with yellow throats. If you buy them in bud, they will look good for three weeks!
7. Orchids: While not cheap, orchids as cut flowers can last up to a month. I love dendrobiums, though they are not common, even in floral shops. Cymbidiums have bigger blossoms and also last extremely well.
8. Kangaroo paws: These Australian natives are fuzzy and cute. They come in pinks, reds, orange and brown, and last very well. Not every florist will have them.
9. Asiatic lilies: I recently got a bouquet of five nice stems grown in New Hampshire that was sold at my local Coop food store. For $12.95, they will bloom with great elegance.

Statice is a good flower for drying and will last for months

You may wish to ask where the flowers you plan to buy are from. Holland, Columbia, Ecuador and Kenya are the world’s top growers and export much of what is available. Some foreign growers have been criticized for producing flowers using strong pesticides and poor labor practices. The Sun Valley group in California is an excellent major American grower of cut flowers – but there is still the environmental cost of shipping them 3,000 miles to us. If you can buy flowers grown locally in greenhouses, do it!

 

Everyone loves to receive the gift of cut flowers, even us guys. So treat your loved one – or yourself- to fresh flowers this winter. They’re cheerful, and can make winter less oppressive for gardeners.

 

Henry lives in Cornish Flat, NH, He is a gardening consultant and a presenter of garden talks with slide shows for clubs and library groups, both live and via Zoom. His email is henry.homeyer@comcast.net.

Filed under Article · Tagged with alstromeria, asiatic lilies, cut flowers, winter flowers

Getting the Most Out of Your Cut Flowers                            

Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2020 · Leave a Comment 

Snow is finally here in Cornish Flat. The cardinals and blue jays are providing a little color to an otherwise unremarkable world. The sun is lurking behind gray clouds, and on a good day we get 9 hours of light. I DO miss the colors of summer. I still keep fresh cut flowers on our table – just not flowers from my garden.

 

 

Alstromeria is a long-lasting inexpensive cut flower.

 

Cut flowers are among modern America’s true bargains. For the price of a bottle of wine – or a few of cups of fancy coffee – you can buy flowers that will grace your table for up to three weeks. But there are some things you should know about getting good table-life for your investment.

 

 

Where you buy your flowers may affect how well they last. A floral shop or a good Food Co-op has trained personnel who trim each stem in the store every other day.  And someone who regularly changes the water to keep to keep it fresh. Chain grocery stores probably count on you buying their flowers before the flowers need to be trimmed or their water changed.

 

 

In either case, you should cut off half to three quarters of an inch from each stem before you put them in a vase, and change the water regularly.  Never let leaves sit in the water. Leaves will rot, promoting growth of bacteria, which will impede water take-up. Ask for the little packets of powder that florists provide, and add that to the water to prolong the life of your flowers. A couple of drops of chlorine bleach may work, too.

 

 

Chrysanthemums

 

Keep your arrangement cool if you can. Putting it near a radiator or wood stove will shorten its life. If you’ve invested in roses or tulips, you may wish to move the vase to the entryway or mudroom at bedtime to keep the flowers extra cool during the night.

 

 

Some flowers are better picks than others if you’re on a budget and can’t afford to buy new flowers every week. Here are my recommendations for good cut flowers:

1. Alstromeria: Each long stem has clusters of 2-inch lily-like blossoms in pinks and reds, with yellow throats. Very long-lived. Great value. Most grocery stores sell them inexpensively.
2. Chrysanthemums: These come in a variety of sizes and colors, from the huge spider mums to little guys. I love the scent of the flowers –it’s not overpowering, but it’s there if you sniff them.
3. Lisianthus: These look like silk flowers to me: perfect white, pink or lavender-colored bell-shaped flowers on long stems. Tough to grow in the garden, they are perfect in a vase – I’ve kept them for up to 3 weeks.
4. Miniature carnations: Each stem has 2-4 blossoms. They come in a variety of colors. Mix dark red “minis” with red roses to make a bouquet of roses look fuller. And even after the roses go to Valhalla, the carnations will still be good!
5. Baby’s breath. Tiny white pompoms are great on their own, or mixed with colorful flowers. I have kept them in a dry vase for months.
6. Statice. I grow these for use as dry flowers, which tells you that they really do last forever – even out of water. They come in blue, purple, pink and white. You can put them in a dry vase and they will last all winter.
7. Spray roses: Instead of a single blossom per stem, these have 2-5 blossoms, giving you more bang for your buck. Will last about a week with proper care.
8. Orchids: While not cheap, orchids can last up to a month. I love dendrobiums, though they are not common, even in floral shops. Cymbidiums have bigger blossoms but also last extremely well. And of course you can buy potted ones, which bloom even longer and can be coaxed to re-bloom next year if you put in the effort to keep them happy.
9. Kangaroo paws: These Australian natives are fuzzy and cute. They come in pinks, reds and browns, and last very well. Not every florist will have them. I grew then in a pot on the deck one year and love them – like Teddy bears on a stem!

It’s possible to change the colors of cut chrysanthemums. Here is what has worked for me:  leave a few stems of a white mum out of water for 12 hours, then cut off 2-3 inches and put it in water with food coloring. Try it with a few stems, to see if you like the results. Put 8 drops of food coloring in a glass with just an inch of water.

 

Baby’s breath is a good filler all or lovely by itself.

 

When I tried it with blue food coloring, my white mums had turned color – but not the true blue I wanted, more of a ghastly greenish blue. Still, if you want to have some fun with your kids, this is an easy way to show how water and dye move up a flower’s stem.

 

Everyone loves to receive the gift of cut flowers, even guys. So treat your loved one – or yourself- to fresh flowers this winter. They’re cheerful, and can make winter less oppressive for gardeners.

 

Henry can be reached at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or e-mailed at henry.homeyer@comcast.net.

 

 

 

Filed under Article · Tagged with alstromeria, caring for cut flowers, chrysanthemums, statice

Buying Cut Flowers

spider mum

Technically, winter is here – despite the lack of snow. The sun is often lurking behind gray clouds, and on a good day we get just 9 hours of light. I miss the colors of summer. I still try to keep fresh cut flowers on the table – even if they’re not flowers from my garden.

Cut flowers are among modern America’s true bargains. For the price of a bottle of wine – or even a few of cups of fancy coffee – you can buy flowers that will grace your table for up to three weeks. But there are some things you should know about getting good table-life for your investment.

First, you need to buy fresh flowers that have been carefully tended – and you can’t beat a florist for that. Yes, grocery stores sell bouquets, but many grocery stores sell bouquets in the fruit and vegetable department. Apples and some other fruits give off ethylene gas, which promotes ripening – or in the case of flowers, getting old and unattractive.

Cut flowers need to take up water to stay fresh and healthy. Stems tend to scab over after a day or two, which means they cannot take up replacement water, or not much, so they suffer. A floral shop has trained personnel who trim each stem in the store every other day, taking off three quarters of an inch each time. And someone who regularly changes the water to keep to keep it fresh. Chain grocery stores probably count on you buying their flowers before the flowers need to be trimmed or their water changed.

Lisianthus

When you bring your flowers home, get them right in water. And follow the 3-second rule: never take longer than 3 seconds to get your flowers in the vase after trimming the stems. Most florists give you packs of powder to put in the water, and the stuff works to keep flowers fresh longer. It inhibits bacteria from growing, which is good. Bacteria will impede water take-up.

If you want maximum life out of you flowers, NEVER let leaves enter the water. Leaves will rot, promoting growth of bacteria. And keep your arrangement cool if you can. Putting it near a radiator or woodstove will shorten its life. If you have invested in roses or tulips, you may wish to move the vase to the entryway or mudroom at bedtime to keep the flowers extra cool during the night – or put them in the fridge.

Some flowers are better picks than others if you’re on a budget and can’t afford to buy new flowers every week. Here are my recommendations for good cut flowers:

1. Lisianthus: These look like silk flowers to me: perfect white, pink or lavender-colored bell-shaped flowers on long stems. Tough to grow in the garden, they are perfect in a vase – I’ve kept them for up to 3 weeks.
2. Miniature carnations: Each stem has 2 to 4 blossoms. They come in a variety of colors. Mix dark red “minis” with red roses to make a bouquet of roses look fuller. And even after the roses go to
   

   Alstromeria

   Valhalla, the carnations will still be good!

3. Chrysanthemums: These come in a variety of sizes and colors, from the huge spider mums to little guys. I love the scent of the flowers –it’s not overpowering, but it’s there if you sniff them.
4. Statice. I grow these for use as dry flowers, which tells you that they really do last forever – even out of water. They come in blue, purple, pink and white.
5. Spray roses: Instead of a single blossom per stem, these have 2-5 blossoms, giving you more bang for your buck. Will last about a week with proper care
6. Alstromeria: Each long stem has clusters of 2-inch lily-like blossoms in pinks and reds, with yellow throats. Very long-lived. Great value.
7. Kangaroo paws: These Australian natives are fuzzy and cute. They come in pinks, reds and browns, and last very well. Not every florist will have them, but ask.

Kangaroo Paw

Looking for a fun project with your kids? It’s easy to change the colors of chrysanthemums. Leave them out of water for 12 hours, then cut off 2-3 inches and put them in water with food coloring. Obviously, you should start with white chrysanthemums. The colors you get may not be exactly the color you see on the food coloring, but it can be quite dramatic.

Everyone loves to receive the gift of cut flowers, even guys. So treat your loved one – or yourself- to fresh flowers this winter. They’re cheerful, and can make winter less oppressive.

Henry is the author of 4 gardening books, including a new, revised second edition of The New Hampshire Gardener’s Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Gardening in the Granite State. His website is www.Gardening-guy.com.

• “Organic Gardening – Not Just in the Northeast”

  Henry’s latest Book, Organic Gardening (not just) in the Northeast: A Hands-On Month-by-Month Guide is now available for $21.00 INCLUDING postage. To Learn more about this book click here: Organic Gardening (not just) in the Northeast: A Hands-On Month-by-Month Guide is organized around the calendar year, starting in March and continuing through the year with timely advice. The book is packed with useful information you won’t find elsewhere: how to sharpen your pruners, use a screwdriver to test for compaction in your lawn, and build a welcoming cedar arbor as an entrance to the garden. Learn how to grow ladyslipper orchids or Himalayan blue poppies, prune apple trees, grow giant pumpkins, and even how to start a date palm from a grocery store date or build a small stone igloo to delight the grandchildren. Eccentric, eclectic, and entertaining, whether you are a beginner or a veteran, this book has something more for you. To see what other garden writers have said about it click here