Happy Valentine's Day!

If you're lucky enough to get flowers on Valentine's Day, make them last longer by doing the following:

Change the water daily.  

Every every other day or so, trim off just the bottom quarter inch of the stems to reopen pores (of a sort) and allow the stems to better take up water.  

Once cut, flowers do best in the cool and dark (think refrigerator), so if practical, keep them out of a warm spot in direct sunlight.  

Floral preservative really does help add a few to several days to the life of flowers. You can also put ginger ale or other regular clear soda in the water, or do a combo of about 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon sugar. The acid prevents bacterial growth and the sugar provides nutrients to the flowers.  

If a bud or two starts to fade, trim or pinch it off to keep the entire bouquet fresh looking. If an entire stem starts to get icky, pull it out and discard. Also pinch off any leaves or foliage that starts to yellow or brown. In some cases, you may want to even downsize the vase, trimming back and arranging the last few good-looking flowers to get every day of enjoyment possible from your gift!

Happy Gardening,

Veronica Lorson Fowler