We’ve all been there. Maybe you let an unexpected flower delivery sit on your porch while you were at work or mistakenly left your bouquet in full sunshine. No matter the case, you find yourself staring at wilted, rotten, or just generally sad flowers.
Before you toss the flowers in the compost pile or trash, realize there’s still hope! Learning how to bring flowers back to life can help you save bouquets you thought were long gone. Of course, some flowers are past the point of revival (if that’s the case, you can learn how to preserve flowers). However, following these tips for reviving flowers will help you bring slightly sad bouquets back to life.
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How to Revive Flowers
If your flowers are long gone, you can discover how you can plant new flowers from an old bouquet. But if they are just a little discolored or wilted, they are worth saving. If you want to know how to bring flowers back to life, take note of the following tips.
Clean the Vase
One reason why flowers begin to wilt is that they become infected by bacteria. This can exist on your flowers before you put them into the vase, but it can also jump from a dirty vase to clean flowers. Therefore, you should always place your bouquet in a clean vase. Fortunately, you can clean your vase just like you wash your dishes.
Cut the Stems
The main reason why flowers begin to wilt is they’re simply not getting enough water. While an empty vase is an obvious cause of wilting, your flowers can become dehydrated even if there is plenty of water in the vase. When this happens, it likely means there’s no way water can enter the stem. That’s because the tissue that transports water begins to die after you cut the stem. This process begins from the point of incision and progresses each day, so flowers wilt faster and faster as time goes by.
To bypass the blockage of dead tissue, it’s important to cut the stems of your flowers. Choose a point about an inch up from its current base and use a sharp pair of clippers, a non-serrated knife, or scissors. Cut the stems at a 45-degree angle to ensure the base of the stem doesn’t lie flat at the bottom of the vase.
Change the Water
After you cut the stems, place them back in a clean vase filled with clean water. Room temperature water is just fine. Even if your flowers look healthy, aim to change the water every two to three days.
Add Flower Food to the Water
Do you know that little packet of flower food you received with your bouquet? Don’t toss it! Although this material may seem unnecessary, it helps your flowers last longer. If you leave it out, you’ll find you may be reviving flowers more often than you like.
If you don’t have a packet of this flower food at home, don’t fret. You can make a substitute using ingredients you probably have lying around the house. For each quart of water, add the following.
- One tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar
- One teaspoon of sugar
- One drop of bleach
Try Adding Small Amounts of Bleach to the Water to Kill Bacteria
No, this doesn’t mean planting your flowers in a bucket of bleach. But bleach can be very useful in small doses. One reason for water not being able to pass through the plants is due to a bacterial infection affecting the “open wound” where it has been previously cut.
This can be especially prevalent when adding sugar or plant food which bacteria thrive on. To keep your flower safe from an infection, you can just add a small amount of bleach, one teaspoon to a quart, to ward off nasty microbes. As it is well-diluted, it won’t harm your flowers.
Trim Away Dead or Dying Foliage
If your flower is lacking the nutrients or water to keep all of its parts healthy, “amputation” is the only course of action. Dead and dying leaves or blooms draw away vital resources from viable blooms and can spread disease to healthy stems. Cutting away dead foliage and removing dead flowers helps the remaining blooms stay fresh.
Keep Your Flowers Cool
Like many fresh things, keeping your flowers out of direct heat and in a cool environment can keep them fresher for longer. If you live in an especially warm area, you can even keep them in a refrigerator at night to help them last as long as possible.
Cut flowers don’t photosynthesize, so they don’t benefit from direct sunlight. In fact, direct sunlight can hasten the demise of those blooming beauties. So take them out of the windowsill or table next to the window. You should also keep them away from drafty areas.
Avoid Common Flowering Revival Myths
Now that you know how to bring flowers back to life, it’s time to learn about some common misconceptions to avoid. Even if your great aunt or next-door neighbor swears by the following practices, it’s best to avoid them.
Don’t Crush the Stems
Some people say smashing the plant’s stem with a hammer or other heavy object can open up the plant tissue and allow it to bring in more water. However, this often results in crushed xylem, the plant structures that move water up towards the flowers. So, opt for a clean 45° cut rather than a smashed stem.
Don’t Put Coins in the Vase
Although some people think a penny will help release copper and keep fungal diseases at bay, this isn’t true. Modern pennies contain a minuscule amount of copper. Even coins made from a larger amount of copper release very little of the element into the water.
Order Farm Fresh Flowers that Last
No matter if you know everything about how to revive flowers, it’s always best to start with fresh blooms. We source all of our flowers from farms that utilize sustainable growing practices, carefully package them, and ship them right to you. That means they spend less of their time in a warehouse and more time with you!
Whether you’re looking for an arrangement for a birthday, graduation, or funeral, we make it easy to order flowers online. We carry flowers ranging from tulips to ranunculus to sunflowers, so you can find something perfect for everyone.
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