We've all heard the old wise tales for keeping fresh flowers longer ... maybe some include:  

Put a penny in the vase to keep bacteria away

Use lemon-lime soda as homemade flower food

Drop in aspirin to help flowers stay fresh

 

Distrusting any of these theories, I looked to the industry experts and was told adding a splash a bleach or using the recommended flower food is the best methods.  I needed to see for myself to feel comfortable sharing with my customers a recommended approach.  

 

I ran a simple two-week experiment using bouquets purchased from Trader Joe’s and divided the stems into four vases.  I followed the instructions on the flower food packet and put 4 cups of water in each vase.  I had the vases organized by water only, bleach only, flower food only, and a mix of the packet of flower food and ½ teaspoon of bleach.

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Over 14 days, I watched how each arrangement held up in freshness, color, and overall vase life.  I did not change the water or cut the stems. The results surprised me, but one things was clear: while each flower aged differently, the flowers kept the best with flower food AND a dash of bleach!