How To Use Flowers Food

Food for Flowers Keeps them Healthy

Keeping freshly cut flowers alive and looking beautiful requires feeding them flowers food. A lot of people think you just buy a bouquet of flowers and stick them in a vase with some water. This does keep them alive for a short period, but if you feed them food for flowers they may last 50 percent longer. Cut flowers purchased from a grocery store rarely include flower food, but you may notice the flowers from florists almost always include a tiny flowers food packet with your order. Flowers need to be fed nutritious food to continue blooming and look their best just as people need food. You can buy flower food packets from florists or pick them up at some of the garden centers. It is also simple to make up your own food for flowers with some of the basics found around most homes. Try making your own flower food and see if your flowers look better and last longer.

 

Step 1

Choose a decorative container for cut flowers. Make sure it is large enough to hold the longest stems and big enough to hold a substantial amount of water. Always clean the container or vase with a little bleach and water to remove bacteria from previous bouquets.

 

Step 2

Always recut flower stems before putting them in a vase. This ensures that the bottom of the stem is open and not covered with a film that may restrict the flower from taking nutrients. Ideally, flowers should be cut in the kitchen sink under running water. Cutting the flower stems at an angle provides a larger surface area for absorbing flowers food.

 

Step 3

Most people have vinegar at home which makes a simple food for flowers. Make up a mixture of one tsp. of sugar and two tbsp. of white vinegar into a vase, fill with water and stir thoroughly. Place the cut flowers in the vase and place the vase in a location out of the sun. Cut flowers should not be put in direct sun or near heating vents or things like TVs that give off heat.

 

Step 4

Try out a simple little recipe for food for flowers using soda pop and hydrogen peroxide. You will need just a quarter cup of Sprite or 7-Up in a quart vase. Add in one tsp. of hydrogen peroxide and fill the remainder of the vase with water. It is a good idea to change the water solution for cut flowers every couple of days to keep flowers fresher and longer. Recut the stems when changing the water and make sure to add a new batch of food for the flowers.

 

Step 5

Another common homemade food for flowers uses household bleach. Fill a quart vase about three-quarters full with warm water. Mix in one tsp. of bleach and two tsp. lemon juice freshly squeezed. Add in one tsp. of regular white sugar and stir thoroughly.

 

Tips

If you are cutting fresh flowers from your own yard, make sure to cut them early in the morning before the heat of the day. Early in the morning, the stems contain more vital fluids than they do after it becomes hot in the afternoon. Always clips the leaves from flower stems that fall below the water's surface in a vase.

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