Extend the Life Of Your Flowers By Steaming Them by: Gerry Belvedere
This method of extending cut flower life may sound a bit drastic but it is quite effective.
- Have two clean buckets ready. Rinse them out with some bleach solution first.
- Boil some water in a kettle and fill bucket No.1 with 2 inches of the boiled water.
- Fill bucket No. 2 with 4 inches of cool water.
- Cut a half inch or so from the stems of your flowers or foliage and put them in the hot water for 20 seconds, no longer.
- Take them out and put them in the cool water.
- You should add 2 teaspoons of household bleach and a pinch of citric acid to each bucket to inhibit any further bacterial growth.
The steaming induces a rush of natural sugars to the flower heads and gets the stems "drinking". Steaming is beneficial to flowers that may have been out of water for a length of time.
Enjoy your flowers!