There’s nothing worse than paying the bill for some beautiful flowers only to find that they didn’t last long. If the flowers are very fresh when delivered, it can actually help them last much longer than they would otherwise.

Trick No. 1: Some florists will provide flower food in a small package to accompany the flowers. While adding this to the vase water will help a bit, I don’t think it works as well as my “flower bouquet cocktail” that I have developed over the years.

Flower bouquet cocktail

• 1 spoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon Clorox bleach
• Mountain spring water

Put 1/2 cup of spring water in a Pyrex (glass) measuring cup. Cook in a microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds (until hot). Add the sugar and mix until completely dissolved. Pour spring water directly into a clean vase. For the water mix in that. Then for a teaspoon. apply bleach and gently stir in water in a vase with a long, thin utensil.

Trick No. 2: This is related to the cutting of the stems. First I place the vase on the edge of the counter to make it easier to know the correct height and place to cut the flower stems. When cutting the stems, do so with a sharp knife and cut diagonally (allow more of the “cocktail” to penetrate the stem). I have been told that with roses in particular, it is best to cut under running water. With all the flowers, you should place the freshly cut stem in the “cocktail” immediately. And, even if you really don’t want to change the height of a given stem, cut the end as described here so that you can make it easier to make the “cocktail.”

Trick No. 3: The final trick relates to rescuing the stems when they start to fade. You really want to do this before the petals start to go totally limp and fall off. This is something I do for very intricate and beautiful flowers that also tend to dry out well.

You will need what I call jars of roses. They are the water containers that are shaped like test tubes and have a flat rubber or plastic lid with a criss-cross slit where the florist inserts a flower (typically a long rose) that is part of a bouquet that is being prepared for a box. . delivery. I keep these vials every time I receive roses this way. You can also go to a craft store or potentially a flower shop and buy them.

I determine the number of possible flowers that can be harvested beforehand and prepare the vials by pouring “cocktail” into them, up to the top. I set them aside in a coffee mug on the kitchen counter.

Then every morning and evening (and evening, if I’m home), I look for flowers that are “ready.” For each one, I take it out of the vase and cut it into a 4- to 5-inch stalk, with a diagonal cut. This is immediately placed in a vial that has been prepared.

Then each of these flowers is placed in a kind of retirement home. It can be in a wicker basket that has some pots of live, leafy plants or perhaps in a ceramic container that is suitable for flowers of this height. This is where your creativity can really come into play! What do you have to make these flowers (which often still have a lot of color) look beautiful? Honestly, I have a lot of fun doing this. You will be amazed at how beautiful these retirement arrangements can be!

Every day for a week or so, you will migrate these flowers to your new home. It is not unusual for this new arrangement to look good for many more weeks! If the drying process works especially well (and the slowly fading cocktail in the vials really helps this), you might even want to keep one of these arrangements indefinitely!

On the other hand, if you are not fully committed to sending flowers as a gift, there are always other gift alternatives you can consider that have permanent staying power from the start.