Tending to your Roses:
Basic Care  
Wilting Roses  
Feeding

Basic Care:
Cut roses don't have to be here today and gone tomorrow. Their vase life can be extended with a little TLC and special care to keep the blooms looking fresh longer. You should be able to enjoy fresh cut roses for 7 to 10 days by following these tips to help add days to their life and beauty...

• Use plain, lukewarm water for cut roses.
   
• Change the water every 2 days -- don't just top it off. This is the single most effective thing you can do to keep your flowers looking fresh!
   
• Both heat and moving air take moisture from the flowers at an accelerated rate. 
  Do not keep roses in excessive warm or dry storage conditions as it can can cause roses to wilt quickly.
  Any cut flower arrangement will last longer if it's kept cool. Place roses where they won't be exposed to direct sunlight, heat from appliances or electric lights, or hot or cold drafts. Move them to a cool place at night - If possible, place vased roses in the refrigerator at night.

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Wilting Roses

• Prematurely wilting roses are also caused by air bubbles. To prevent air bubble blocks, make a new stem-end cut while holding it in water. A small droplet of water will cling to the stem end as you transfer the rose to the vase. This prevents the bubble from re-forming.
   
• Always use a clean container for cut flower arrangements. Previously used vases may contain bacteria that will quickly multiply and block the water-conducting tubes of the flower stems.
   
• Remove foliage below the water line. Foliage decaying in the water hastens the demise of the flowers by contributing to the bacterial buildup.

A few more pointers..

• You can keep cut roses from drooping by poking a pinhole in the stem right below the blossom.
   
• Limp roses can be revived by standing up to their necks in lukewarm water in a cool room.
   
• Do not bash the stems of roses, as this prevents them taking up water effectively.
   
• Don't remove thorns unless for a hand-held posy, as these can cause wounds where bacteria can enter causing the rose to rapidly wilt.
   
• Keep cut flowers away from fruit, which releases a gas that causes flowers to age faster.

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Feeding:
Some methods to prolong the life of cut roses work better than others...
Here are a few preservatives:

• Add a commercial flower preservative - or some Seven-Up and a few drops of chlorine bleach to the water if possible. Either of these provides some food, in the form of sugar, and inhibits bacterial growth.
   
• Put a penny and an aspirin tablet in the vase. The theory is that the copper acts a fungicide and the aspirin makes the water more acidic.

• Add one part lemon-lime soda (not diet) to 3 parts water. Then to each quart of this solution, add 1/4 teaspoon bleach. Thereafter, add 1/4 teaspoon bleach after each 4 days of use.
   
• To 1 quart water add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon bleach.
   
• Add 2 ounces Listerine mouthwash per gallon of water. Listerine contains sucrose (food) and a bactericide. Listerine is acidic and is said help water move up the cut stem.
   
• Re-cut stems every third day and change the water, adding more flower preservative each time.
   

One Last Word...

Floral preservative can help the flowers last longer. You can use a commercial preservative or make your own. However, some experts advise against any home concoctions because they don't provide the complex mixture of nutrients and preservatives that cut flowers need to survive.
Others argue that using all-natural ingredients serve the purpose as effectively, and the needed ingredients are usually already available at home.

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