Making Cut Flower Bouquets

Cutting Garden Flowers for Indoor Bouquets

Terry L. Yockey

Stargazer lilies and pink cleome from the garden make a lovely indoor bouquet.

I consider every flower in my garden to be precious and when I do decide to cut some stems for flower arrangements, I want them to last more then just a few days; otherwise, it isn't worth my while to leave even a small hole in my borders.

Here are some tips from the experts on how to keep all of your cut flower arrangements looking their best for the maximum amount of time:

Always cut flowers in the early morning before the heat of day depletes their carbohydrate reserves. (Can't get away from hearing about carbs, can you?).

Carry a bucket filled with lukewarm water out into the garden with you. Cut the flower stems at a slight angle and then place them immediately into the water so that air doesn't move into the water-conducting tissue and plug the cells.

When you have collected enough stems for your bouquet, bring the flowers indoors for a conditioning period. Conditioning is very important to maximize the vase life of any cut flower--homegrown or purchased. Remove all the foliage that will be under the water level and then submerge the stems in lukewarm water containing floral preservative up to the base of the blooms. Let them rest and rehydrate for at least eight hours.

When you are ready to arrange your flowers, recut the stems at an angle to the desired height for your bouquet. Always use a sharp knife and not scissors or pruning shears. Using scissors or shears squeezes the stem and crushes the water-conducting vessels.

For longest vase-life it is recommended that every two or three days, you recut the stems, clean the vase, and add new floral preservative.

It is very important that you always use commercial floral preservative for your cut flower bouquets. Floral preservatives provide a balance of the three components that benefit cut flowers the most, sugar, citric acids and antibacterials. The sugars feed the flower, the citric acids make it easier for the flower to draw water up the stem and the antibacterial keeps bacterial growth down in the vase water.

I'm sure you've heard that you can use pennies or aspirin to keep your cut flowers looking fresh longer. They don't work. There is only one home remedy that even comes close to the commercial preservative. If you have run out of floral preservative and need something fast you can temporarily substitute one 12 ounce lemon-lime soda (7-Up is one brand) and one tablespoon chlorine bleach added to one gallon of water. Be careful though. If your vase tips that bleach will do quite a number on the carpet!

How to Make Cut Flower Bouquets Last Longer Video

Tips on how to make your cut garden flowers last longer in indoor bouquets.

Find out how to grow garden flowers for indoor bouquets in the book

"An American Cutting Garden: A Primer for Growing Cut Flowers Where Summers Are Hot and Winters Are Cold" by Suzanne McIntire. This book describes how to plan a cutting garden, choose suitable plants, keep the garden in good order, and harvest a bountiful crop of cut flowers for bouquets. Paperback - 284 pages (November 2004) Univ. of Virginia Press.