Lasting beauty: Tips to enjoy cut flowers longer – Lancaster Newspapers

Now that summer’s in full swing, homeowners around the area can display fresh-cut flower arrangements, bringing just a splash of the sunny season inside.

Unfortunately, that bit of summer does not always last long once it has left the ground in which it’s been growing.

Certain flowers last longer in vase arrangements, something that Mary Beth Shenk, owner of Flowers By Paulette, 258 N. Queen St., says may have to do with how well certain flowers hold water.

“It’s just the nature of the flower,” Shenk says.

In her time working with flowers, she says she’s seen carnations, alstroemeria, mums, pincushion protea and sunflowers last the longest.

Even orchids, a flower some people may see as delicate, last fairly long in a vase arrangement, she adds.

“They’re longer lasting and more hardy than people might think,” Shenk says.

Allison Sullivan, whose family runs the Spring Knoll Farm stand at Lancaster Central Market, says if buying from a wholesaler, she too thinks alstroemeria and carnations are a best bet for long-lasting flowers.

But, if you’re looking for something locally grown, sunflowers, if cut and put into water, are a great way to go, Sullivan says.

Globeflowers are another good option, she says, and they can last even past the time in a vase because they make a good dried flower.

Specifically at Central Market, Sullivan says people come to her looking for sunflowers, simply because “they’re beautiful.”

“They’re bright colors,” she says. “They’re summer.”

Overall, flowers indoors last longer if the air is dry and cooler, Sullivan says.

Humidity is often damaging to fresh-cut flowers in a vase with water, Sullivan says. If the vase is in an area with a lot of moisture in the air, the water can grow mold, which is then taken up through the plant’s stem and kills the flower, she says.

In addition to avoiding humidity, another good idea is to try to keep the water fresh, she adds.

“If you keep the water clean … that helps the flowers last the longest,” Sullivan says.

To keep bacteria out of the water, Sullivan says, you can add just a bit of bleach or the floral nutrition packets to help the plant last longer.

Barry Spengler, vice president of operations at Royer’s Flowers and Gifts, which has 17 stores in southcentral Pennsylvania, says they highly recommend using the flower nutrition packs because they give sugars to the plants.

“The floral solutions, the little packets you get with the flowers when you get them … that really helps, because it gives the flowers food,” Spengler says. “If you add that to the water, that significantly helps.”

He says he’s also heard of other methods, like adding a bit of bleach to the water and even putting a penny in the vase, but overall he says he thinks the floral packets are best.

“That’s the one we know that works — scientifically is proven to work,” Spengler says.

Recutting the bottom of the flower when it’s starting to look like it’s not getting enough water, maybe three or four days in, helps preserve time in a vase, he says. Even cutting the stem very short, especially for roses, can extend longevity, he adds.

“There’s more ways that the rose loses water through the stem. But when you cut them short, they really last,” Spengler says.

You can also give roses more life if the flower is looking bent in the neck, by cutting the bottom and then laying the whole flower in cold water for two or three hours to rehydrate the entire rose, he says.

Roses have gotten better over the years and last longer, Spengler says, which is important because roses are still a very popular flower.

Deana Erdman, manager and head designer for Flowers by Paulette, also says roses are a top choice for buyers.

“That’s probably the No. 1 arrangement,” Erdman adds.

He too says alstroemeria is a good choice for a long-lasting flower in a vase. Spengler’s seen a rise in their popularity, something he says is likely due to how well they work in a vase.

Gerbera daisies have been high on people’s lists recently, but their lifespan once cut isn’t as good, he adds.

A really good one will last five to seven days at most, he says.

Spengler says not only are sunflowers popular, but they work really well in a vase because if cut early, the flower should definitely last more than a week.

“Until it opens up and looks nice, you can get a week and a half easy out of that,” he adds.

Lilies, too, can be cut while the flower is still tightly closed and open in three to five days, giving them a total time of about two weeks in a vase, Spengler says.

As for flowers that don’t necessarily play nice in the same vase, both Spengler and Shenk say they’ve heard that combining daffodils and tulips isn’t the best idea, although Spengler says it may have more to do with the fact that both come from a bulb and just do better outside.

“They don’t like it being indoors. They just don’t like the conditions,” he says. “Those (flowers) just aren’t tolerant to the conditions of a home.”

But, when in doubt, if fresh-cut flowers die, it’s easiest to just replace them, Sullivan says.

People should grow so many they don’t have to worry about them dying, she adds with a laugh, explaining that’s what she does.

“Just enjoy them. If they die quick(ly), cut more,” Sullivan says.

Suggested long-lasting cut flowers:

From Allison Sullivan of Spring Knoll Farm:

1. Alstroemeria

2. Sunflowers

3. Mountain mint

4. Statice

5. Black-eyed susans

6. Coxcombs

From Deana Erdman of Flowers by Paulette:

1. Orchids

2. Pin cushions

3. Calla lilies

4. Ginger

5. Bird of paradise

6. Tulips