How to care for roses in a vase: tips for long-term preservation

In order to prolong the life of a bouquet of roses or hydrangeas, it’s enough to follow a few rules:

Bouquet "Power of Love!"

• Give a bouquet brought from the cold 10-15 minutes to adapt to the ambient temperature.
• Cut 2-3 cm of stems with a sharp disinfected knife or pruner at an angle over 45 degrees (the larger the angle, the more water the plant will be able to drink). Now split the leg of the plant to a height of 5 cm.
• Remove excess leaves so that they won’t fall into the water.
• Treat a vase with antiseptic.
• Put flowers in the vase with the stems ⅔ immersed in cold filtered or settled water.
• Put the bouquet of roses in a well-ventilated place. Make sure there are no draughts, heater, or conditioner around. The direct sunlight is dangerous, too.
• Water the leaves using a spray bottle on a daily basis. Avoid watering rosebuds.
• Change water everyday and prune flowers.
• Using additional fertilizing for roses is welcome, too.This will save you the need to change the water every day and it’ll be enough to just top it up a bit.
• In case you don’t have fertilizing, use a special mix that you can make yourself by diluting 2 tablespoons of sugar in 1 liter of water.

How to Prune Roses Correctly

Bouquet of yellow roses

Pruning is a key factor in prolonging the life of roses (hydrangeas, peonies, lilacs, etc.), therefore it should be done correctly. Here are a few rules to follow:

• Use only a well-sharpen disinfected knife or pruner.
• Immerse flowers in the water.
• Now prune the stems at an angle over 45 degrees. An angle smaller than that will prevent the flowers from getting enough water.
• Renew the cut every day.

Rose Resuscitation

Bouquet of roses "Carnival of love"

Here are a few effective ways to resuscitate a bouquet of roses in a short while:

• Emergency therapy. Immerse the ends of the stems in boiling water for a few minutes. Now cut off the burnt part and put flowers in a vase filled with cold water.
• Place a silver coin or jewelry at the bottom of the vase. Silver helps prevent the stem from rotting.
• Add a few milliliters of glycerin or camphor alcohol to the water.
• You can also add a few drops of bleach or detergent. This will kill harmful bacteria in the vase.
• Prepare a “revitalizing” mixture by diluting ½ tablespoon of ethyl alcohol and a few drops of ammonia in 1 liter of water. Put roses in this mixture straight after pruning.
• Wrap the flowers carefully in thick paper and immerse them in cold water overnight.