Spring break and Daylight savings time are this weekend! You know what that means? Spring is in the air! Yes the warm days will sprout those lovely flowers for us to enjoy inside and out! I love flowers of all kinds and miss them when the winter months roll around. I always have cut flowers in my home during the spring, summer, and fall months. In the winter I start bulbs. I thought I would make an Instructable about how to make a flower preservative and give you a few tips about cut flowers. My husband recently bought me some cut flowers. Unfortunately they did not come with a flower preservative and they were looking a little droopy. I am glad I knew a recipe to use, so they would not wilt and die. Let me show you how simple it is to make.

Step 1: Ingredients

Recipe:

2 Tablespoons white vinegar.
2 Tablespoons sugar.
1/2 Teaspoon chlorine bleach.
1 Quart warm water.

Or

If you don't want to use bleach; adding any ( one ) of these to warm water before adding flowers are beneficial:

1 crushed aspirin.
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 Copper penny.
1 Pinch of salt.
1 Pinch baking soda.
A good substitute is 7up; 6 oz to a gallon of water.

There are many different recipes available.

Step 2: Utensils

Empty bottle.
Marker.
Funnel.
Measuring cup.
Spoon.
Cutting board.
Vase.
Scissors.

Step 3: Method

1 Quart of warm water into a measuring cup, then add:
2 Tablespoons white vinegar.
2 Tablespoons sugar.
1/2 Teaspoon chlorine bleach.
Stir.
Write on the bottle Flower Water!
Fill a vase with this solution as needed.

Step 4: Cutting Tips

The best time to cut flowers are early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Fragrant flowers are cut best, in the morning when the plant is filled with stored food and the flowers are most fragrant.
Flowers keep best when cut with a sharp knife or scissors and placed into water as soon as possible.
Cut the stems on a slant, as it exposes more stem surface area.
Make sure the leaves are removed that might be in contact with the water.
If cutting roses do not remove the thorns as it tends to shorten their life.
Keep flowers in a cool place away from drafts, heat, and away from fruit.
Change the water every 48 hours and clean the vase.

Step 5: Add Solution

Add the flower water to a vase.
Trim the flowers to the length you need.
Trim the stem ends on an angle.
Remove any leaves that may come in contact with the water.
Place the flowers in the vase ASAP.

Step 6: Sunshiine's Final Thoughts

Spring, it's such a pretty little thing! Try these ideas the next time you cut some flowers or you buy them and see if you don't enjoy them a little longer! Have a beautiful spring break and please drop in again sometime.
Sunshiine