How long should my flowers last?
We expect our scented narcissi to last 5-7 days and scented pinks 7-10 days, but sometimes we hear from people whose flowers have lasted much longer. There are a few tips we have gleaned from these green-fingered wizards that might be worth following.
Put your flowers somewhere cool
A hall or a vestibule is a great place and if you do want to enjoy them in a room you use more, move them to a cooler place when you go out or overnight. We have heard of people keeping scented narcissi going for over 2 weeks by keeping them in a cool conservatory.
Trim the ends of the stems
When the flowers first arrive use a sharp knife or good scissors to cut 2.5cm off the stems and retrim them periodically. This removes any bacterial build up in the base of the stem and helps the flower to take up water.
Change cloudy water
Put the flowers in a clean vase with fresh water and change the water at least every 4 days, never letting the water turn cloudy. The cloudy water is caused by a build up of bacteria that will then reduce the vase life of your flowers.
Use the flower food provided
A component of flower food is a mild bactericide so using this will help keep that water clear. Using a glass vase is a good idea as you will see the moment you have left it a little too long and the water has started to go cloudy.
Remove old flowers
Remove any flowers or flower heads that start to go over. Some varieties have a longer life than others and there is natural variance even in flowers of the same variety. If you remove flowers that have gone past their best you will be removing a source of harmful bacteria.
Move away from fruit
Don't keep your flowers near fruit, especially bananas. Ripening fruit gives off ethylene which will help to 'ripen' your flowers and therefore shorten their vase life.
