How to keep the cut flowers fresh?

To keep the bouquet for a long time its freshness and attractiveness, it is necessary to take into account the cutting time and the blossoming phase in which the cut flower is located. Most flowers best cut early in the morningwhen they are full of night moisture, or late at night, when the evening dew has already fallen out. It is better to cut flowers in the daytime in cloudy weather.

Some flowers are best cut off when they are in the stage buds (tulips, irises, gladiolus, peonies, roses, lilies), others - completely blossoming (dahlias, asters, marigolds, phlox).

In a bouquet, different flowers can coexist, but not all of them agree to live in the same vase. Therefore, in order to prolong the life of a bouquet it is necessary to remember that, for example, tulips and daffodils can not be put together - tulips wither. But the neighborhood cypress tulips will be happy - the cypress helps them stay longer.

Do not put in one vase with daisies, poppies or cornflowers lilies - they speed up the withering of these flowers. Therefore, lilies should be placed in a separate vase. In a separate vase is also better to put carnations, roses, bird cherry, lilies of the valley - these flowers destroy any neighbors.

A cut bouquet can not be immediately put incold water if the room is hot, and you can not immediately put the flowers in the warm water from the frost. It is necessary to give flowers a little time to adapt to changing the ambient temperature.

If you just put cut flowers in a vase of water and immediately forget about them, then you do not have to think about the long life of a bouquet. Before you put flowers in the vase, they need to be properly prepared.

At first, bouquet should be put in a vase, completely freeing it from all sorts of auxiliary tools: twine or wire, scotch tape, wrapping paper, tapes, etc.

And secondly, it is necessary to remove the lower leaves of flowers that will fall into the water, and update slices on the stems. In plants with a solid stem, the tip of the stem should be split to a depth of 3-4 cm and insert a piece of a match into the cleavage - this will enhance the absorption of moisture. Soft stems of plants with a sharp knife should be cut obliquely.

Trimming the stems of flowers should be surelywater, for example, in a saucepan or bowl. This is necessary in order to prevent air from entering the stems and not clogging the vessels of plants. It is best to carry out this procedure in warm water, the exception - chrysanthemums and buvards - they require cold water.

Some flowers give off the so-called "milky"juice that can clog the conductive vessels of their stems. To avoid this, after the first cut under the water, the tips of the stems must be lowered into boiling water for a few seconds, making sure that the hot steam does not get on the flowers. It is also possible to ignite the tips of the stems above the flame of a match or lighters before stirring and only then put the flowers in the water.

Cut flowers last longer if they add special nutrients to the water in which they stand. Such preparations can be purchased in the store in the form of powders or ready-made solutions, or you can replace them with improvised means.

Water in the vase can be sweetened, at a rate of 1 tbsp. sugar for 1 liter of water - this will prolong the life of milling, carnations, roses, tulips, asters. Cyclamens, lilies of the valley, amaryllis and clematis, in turn, can not stand sugars, so you do not need to sweeten the water in the vase.

A solution should also be addedantiseptic for protecting flowers from bacteria. As an antiseptic, a wooden corner, a silver coin or a ring, a detergent at the tip of a knife, a potassium permanganate (a pair of crystals per liter of water) or aspirin (1 tablet per 1 liter) will do. Aspirin is better suited for roses, dahlias and chrysanthemums, and manganese for daffodils and tulips.

Not the last role plays in the prolongation of lifecut flowers the acidity of the solution in which they are located. The acidity can be regulated by adding various acids to water, for example, citric, ascorbic, acetic, etc.

Even alcohol solution is able to preserve the freshness of the cut flowers longer. For example, asters and orchids do not at all object to a spoonful of alcohol per liter of water.

For flowers, it is best to use boiled, filtered or at least simply water room temperature. The water in the vase should be changed daily, and if there are signs of wilting, twice a day. Dry or rotten leaves and flowers should be removed immediately.

Every day, the vase should be washed with soap and water.rinse with a light solution of potassium permanganate. At night, the bouquet should be immersed in a bucket of water, having previously wrapped the heads of flowers in paper. In the morning the bouquet will again please its freshness.

Vase with flowers can not be placed near heating appliances, televisions or computers. Avoid contact with the bouquet of direct sunlight and protect flowers from sudden temperature changes.