Flower Care Tips

A bouquet of fresh flowers can brighten up any room, but before long, they start to wilt and die. Taking proper care of your flowers will help them last longer, but there's no need to buy fancy preservative. Follow these steps by George Thomas Florist to keep your flowers living longer.

CARE FOR FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS

Make sure the container your flowers come in is always full of fresh, clean water. Re-cutting the stems at a 45° angle one or two inches from the bottom will reopen the seal from their last cut, helping your blooms soak up every last drop. Flowers like to play it cool, so set the dial for between a pleasant 65 to 72 degrees F but make sure they never freeze, don't forget them in the car in colder months. Let them bask in the sunlight from a distance, and don't make home a spot near vents, appliances, or electronics like TVs and computers. 

CARE FOR ORCHIDS

When it comes to light, orchids fall into two camps. Ascocenda, Cattleya, Dendrobium, Oncidium and Vanda are fans of bright, indirect light, while Paphiopedilum, Phalaenopsis and Miltonia prefer the shade. Keep the bottom of your orchid's container dry by watering about every 10 days. Provide adequate air circulation and offer them a boost with a liquid fertilizer according to the label on the bottle, usually once or twice a month. And don't add soil to your orchid's container; most are epiphytes---they get their moisture and nutrients from the air, bark and moss near their roots. Let them put down roots in a bed of rocks, moss, or bark, the way nature intended.

CARE FOR SUCCULENTS

Water your succulent when it has dried out completely from the last watering, soaking the soil until it drains out, generally every one to two weeks. If your container doesn't have drainage holes, water down to just the top ½ inch of soil. While succulents love natural light, they'll do fine if they get six hours of sunshine a day. If you see a wilted leaf, simply prune it off. Your succulent will thank you.