One of the most popular spring flowers are tulips. They are massively presented on March 8, birthdays and other significant holidays to ladies. And then many owners of bouquets begin to think about how to store cut tulips for as long as possible so that their aroma and appearance delight for a long time. There are several secrets worth knowing.
Purchase Rules
Unfortunately, not every bouquet can be saved. Therefore, at first it is advisable to find out exactly what kind of flowers you need to buy. Before you think about storing cut tulips that you plan to purchase in the store, carefully examine them. If there are yellow chubby leaves, then the flowers have been on sale for quite some time. Such will not stand for a long time. If the flower is completely dissolved, and the petals do not fit snugly on the stem, then you should abandon such a bouquet. He also will not last long at home. If the edges of the petals have faded and darkened, this indicates improper or prolonged storage in the store. If you buy such a bouquet, it will be safe to say that it will not stand idle for more than two days.
Why do flowers fade
Before storing cut tulips at home, you need to understand why they do not "die" immediately after cutting. Flowers are living plants because they feed, breathe and grow due to their root system. As soon as they lose it, access to the nutrients that support their life ceases. Because of this, wilting occurs. However, there are some tricks that allow plants to feed and be kept fresh even for some time even without a root system. Many women are aware of these tricks and actively use them. And this allows them to admire the flowers for a long time. Therefore, before storing cut tulips brought from the store (not the ones that grew in your own garden), you should familiarize yourself with some tricks.
Secret number 1
It consists in top dressing. How to store cut tulips at home, using additional food for flowers? Just add a piece of sugar to the water. It provides nutrients that are absorbed by the plant, allowing it to maintain a fresh look for a while. In flower shops you can also find a 3% sugar solution. By adding it to water, you can slow down the wilting process for 3-4 days. Flowers will continue to feed, which means they will not "die" quickly.
Secret number 2
It consists in water. And it does not suit everyone. How to store cut tulips in water for a long time? It is necessary to change it more often. This type of flower loves cold and fresh water. In this case, top dressing should be added every time as soon as the fluid has been changed. It is noteworthy that if you pour the settled cool water, and not from the tap (with harmful impurities), then the bouquet will stand at least 1.5 times longer than usual.
Secret number 3
It consists in the addition of some special means to prevent rotting stems. After all, the longer they are in the water, the faster they thin out and deteriorate. Therefore, you can add crushed charcoal (it is sold in stores) or an aspirin tablet. It must be crushed into powder, and then poured into water. From this, the stems will cease to rot and "shag." Before storing cut tulips in this way, you will need to cut them correctly with a very sharp knife.
How and how to do it
It’s not enough just to buy a bouquet and properly feed it. You also need to trim the stems. It is simple enough, but requires a little trick. First, the stems are pruned only in water. This prevents air from entering, which means that no pathogenic and destructive bacteria will develop. Secondly, the stems are cut along an oblique, and not a straight path. From this, the structure will not be greatly disrupted, and it will be easier for nutrients from the water to enter the inside. How to store cut tulips at home for as long as possible? Trim the stems a little bit every day. Thus, they will not clog and continue to eat, which will allow them to remain fresh for a long enough time, as if they had just been cut from a flower bed.
Dry method
Oddly enough, but there is a way to store cut tulips without water. It turns out that it’s not so difficult. And most importantly, in some cases it is even necessary. So, for example, many sellers are wondering about how to store cut tulips until the sale as long as possible, then to sell them profitably. And in a dry way this can be achieved. First, wet the paper or newspaper with water, just a little bit. Then the flowers are wrapped in it so that the buds do not touch each other and do not stick together. The bouquet is cleaned in the refrigerator for storage. There are special requirements for the refrigerator. Firstly, the temperature should not be higher than three degrees of heat. Secondly, the humidity can not be lower than 95%, otherwise the flowers will begin to rot. Thirdly, it’s better not to put food nearby. Thus, you can store bouquets for two weeks without compromising their condition. By the way, Dutch tulips are transported in this way, although they are previously put in boxes, rubbed with paraffin inside. This prevents the evaporation of moisture, which allows you to keep plants for almost three weeks unchanged.
How to cut tulips from beds
This is perhaps the most pressing issue, since almost every third summer resident they grow right next to the house. And how they will be cut, depends on how to store cut tulips as long as possible at home then. First of all, it is worth remembering that flowers are removed from the beds exclusively in the early hours of the day. The stems are still flexible and juicy, not having time to give their juice to the roots. And it is desirable to keep them after cutting, heads down. So the juice will not flow out during transportation from the garden to the vase. It is noteworthy that the flowers are cut only with a very sharp knife or blade along the oblique, so that at least two leaves remain on the stems. From this juice will be more, and the plants will stand in the end longer. And of course, we must not forget that a vase with a bouquet is not placed on the sunny side or where drafts "walk". From this, the buds fade faster, and the stems dry out. If there are still plants nearby, then it is better to put them away. First, they emit ethylene, from which tulips quickly wither. Secondly, cut flowers do not like close proximity to other species. Tulips wither from this and fade faster. Drying leaves are cut or removed completely so that they do not pull the juices from the stems and buds onto themselves. With proper care, tulips will stand for about 7-14 days, delighting the owners with their color and aroma.