Preparing a vase

A good, clean vase or container is the foundation for keeping your flowers fresh for longer.

Your vase needs to be free from dust, dirt or contaminants before you do anything, so make sure it is thoroughly cleaned prior to use.

Bacteria is the enemy here, so the game is to remove any bacteria before filling your vase with water.

Carefully wash the vase with warm water and a little bleach, then allow the vase to dry naturally on a drying rack. Don’t be tempted to use a hand towel to speed up the drying process, doing this will reintroduce bacteria to the vase and you’ll have to start again!

Flowers are a fussy, high maintenance partner; so they like their conditions to be just right to perform at their best and last as long as possible.

Tap water is fine for fresh flowers, but it does need a little conditioning to make it perfect. Fill your vase with water from your tap then leave it to allow the water to reach room temperature, this does two things:

Firstly, as the water settles, tiny air bubbles will escape, these air bubbles can be bad for the health of your flowers.

Secondly, room temperature water is the optimum temperature for the plants to draw water up through the stems. Warmer water draws up the stems better than cold water, but if the water is too hot this can damage the stems. Think about Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

You can read more about how stems work and get preparation tips here.

Many cut flowers come with pre-prepared flower food, but we don’t like it and don’t supply it as it comes in plastic packaging! It’s really simple and more environmentally friendly to make it at home.

Mix thoroughly:

• 1 mug of warm water

• 1 teaspoon of sugar

• 1 teaspoon of bleach

• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Add this to your vase water before placing your arrangement in the vase.

Note: this mix will be enough for a vase containing one litre of water, so adjust accordingly.

The sugar acts as a food source for the flowers, the bleach will kill off bacteria, and the lemon juice helps to keep the pH of the water low. Lowering the pH of the water a little will help the plants to draw the water up through the stems, and can also reduce wilting.