Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
How to Revive Wilting Cut Flowers
Keep your cut flowers around longer by reviving them with this method when they start to wilt. Doing so will extend their life up to 3 days.
You can cut many of the flowers you enjoy in your garden to place in a vase -- bringing the outdoors in adds a touch of brightness to your home. Bright annuals like zinnias (Zinnia elegans) and marigolds (Tagetes patula) are perfect for indoor arrangements. Many gardeners in U.S. department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9 also enjoy hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.) as cut flowers, but may be disappointed by how quickly these flowers wilt in cut flower arrangements. Fortunately, when your flowers start to wilt, there are steps you can take to revive them and extend their life by 24 to 72 hours so you can enjoy them longer.
Things You'll Need
Bleach
Water
Thermometer
Measuring spoons
Sugar
Sharp knife or scissors
Rubbing alcohol
Banish Bacteria
Remove your flowers from the vase, and then wash the vase thoroughly to kill any bacteria that rotting leaves and flower stems may have introduced. Use a mixture that is 1 part bleach and 9 parts water to do the cleaning, and then rinse the vase thoroughly.
Prepare the Vase
Fill the vase with fresh warm water. Ideally, the water temperature should be between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 3 teaspoons of sugar and several drops of bleach to the water, and stir gently. Adding several drops of bleach into the water kills any bacteria that will develop if only sugar water is used.
Trim the Stems
Hold the flower stems under warm running water, and cut them with a sharp knife or pair of scissors, removing about an inch of stem. Make sure the knife is sharp, because you want to cut the stems without crushing them. It's also important that the knife blade is clean, so wipe it with rubbing alcohol or bleach before you start. Cut the stems at an angle. This exposes more of the vascular system and prevents the stems from sitting flat on the bottom of the vase, improving their water intake.
Choose a Location
Place your newly revived flowers in a spot that's out of direct sunlight and away from drafts. You may also want to store your arrangement in the refrigerator when you're not admiring it to prolong its life. If you do, don't put it directly in front of or below the cooling vents inside the fridge.
A Note on Roses
Most everyone likes to receive a bouquet of roses (Rosa spp.), and there's a variety of rose that grows in every USDA plant hardiness zone. Roses in cut flower arrangements can be revived in a unique manner. To revive roses, follow the steps you would for any other flower, but soak them before placing them back in the vase. You can soak the entire rose in a bath of warm water for 30 minutes, allowing the whole flower to absorb the water and plump back up quickly.
