Is there anything better than fresh flowers brightening up your home? You buy flowers, they’re delivered to your Milwaukee door, and they look bouncy and bright, with an oh-so-delicious fragrance — for only a few days before wilting.

Sad, drooping flowers can certainly change the mood in a room that was full of floral happiness only a day before. So what can you do? When you buy flowers from Welke’s House of Roses, we want them to last as long as possible! Because of this, we’ve collected some of the best tips for keeping flowers fresh from the florists at our flower shop. Try them out for yourself and let us know how they work for you! Whether you want to order flowers as a gift or buy flowers for yourself (we’re not here to judge), we’re here to help. Order flowers online today from Welke’s House of Roses.

Protect From Cats

There are plenty of poisonous flowers and plants for cats out there that you’ll surely want to keep your cats away from. But those bouncy petals, green leaves, and that sweet aroma will entice your cats no matter what. There’s nothing quite like a swatting paw to completely destroy your delivered flowers, so try out some of our tips for keeping cats away from your floral arrangements.

Cut The Stems

We all know to cut the stems when we’re putting flowers into a vase, right? But did you know it’s actually more beneficial if you cut flower stems diagonally? As sideways as this may sound, it’ll increase the surface area on the bottom of the stem — meaning the flowers can get more water.

Keep Water Fresh

There are two different ways to do this: changing out the water and pruning your plants. We’ve all been to that unpleasant place where we leave the water for just a little too long — and then have murky, smelly water as a reward. Change out the water regularly to prevent bacteria from forming and that cloudy look from taking over.

Pruning your bouquet of flowers helps with the water. When you remove all leaves below the waterline, the water is less likely to develop bacteria. Be sure to regularly prune and remove dead leaves or petals.

Regulate The Temperature

You don’t like it too hot or too cold, and neither will your flowers. When you buy flowers online, it’s important to keep them comfortable. Refrigerate your flowers overnight whenever possible and remove your fresh flowers from direct sunlight or heat sources. This could be a window sill, heating vent, appliance that generates heat, or a particularly sunny part of your house.

You should also be careful around open windows, cooling vents, or ceiling fans — even though they’re not necessarily increasing heat — because they could cause the flowers to dehydrate.

Feed The Flowers

You should always give your floral arrangement the flower food that comes with the delivery, but there are other tricks up florists’ sleeves for longer-lasting, more vibrant flowers:

• Apple cider vinegar & sugar – Mix together in your water before adding flowers, and then let it work its magic! The vinegar will be antibacterial and the sugar works just like flower food.
• Soda – Just when you thought flowers couldn’t get any sweeter. Mix in a ¼ cup of lemon-lime soda, and your flowers will last longer and smell sweeter because of the acidity and sugar.
• Penny – Turns out pennies aren’t only lucky if they’re heads side up. Throw a coin into your water and make a wish for fresh flowers, and your wish may just come true. The copper is an acidifier and will fight bacteria.

Buying flowers online will put you in a good mood, and with these tips you can make your good mood last longer. Order flowers online from Welke’s House of Roses today.