Cut Flower Care 101: Keep Your Blooms Beautiful Longer

What You'll Learn You brought home something beautiful — here's how to make it last as long as possible with just a few simple habit

Start With a Fresh Trim Before your flowers go in a vase, trim about an inch off the bottom of each stem at a 45-degree angle. This opens up more surface area for the stem to drink. Do this under running water if you can — it stops air bubbles from blocking water uptake.

Choose the Right Vase and Water A clean vase matters more than you'd think. Bacteria in a dirty vase will shorten your flowers' life quickly. Fill it with cool, fresh water — not warm. Most flowers prefer cool temperatures and cool water slows bacteria growth.

Use Your Flower Food Those little packets that come with bouquets actually work! They contain sugar for energy, an acidifier to help water travel up the stem, and a biocide to slow bacteria. Drop one in and don't skip it.

Location Matters Keep your flowers away from:

• Direct sunlight and heat vents

• Your fruit bowl — ripening fruit releases a gas that ages flowers quickly

• Drafty windows or air conditioning vents

A cool room out of direct light is ideal.

Change the Water Every Two Days Fresh water makes a huge difference. When you change it, give the stems another small trim and rinse the vase. It takes two minutes and can add days to your bouquet's life.

Remove Spent Blooms and Leaves Pull off any petals or leaves that are wilting or sitting below the waterline. Decaying plant material speeds up bacteria growth and pulls the whole bouquet down faster.

Know When to Let Go Even with perfect care, cut flowers have a natural lifespan. When most blooms have faded it's time — but pull out any stems still looking great and pop them in a small bud vase for a few more days of enjoyment.

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