How to Keep Your Store Bought Bouquet Alive Extra Long

I love flowers. A love that probably comes from my mom loving flowers. I do not remember a home that we lived in that didn't have a million flower gardens and fresh bouquets during the summers.

However, I did not have the green thumb or the love of gardening until the last couple of years. It was like pulling teeth, I'm sure, to get me into the garden with my mom. I preferred to shovel the barn or work in the shed with my dad than be bent over in the garden.

Sorry, Mom.

But, once I got my own house I instantly wanted flowers. I wanted a garden right away and I failed, miserably the first couple of years.

Just before we lost our house my mom had helped me put in a garden around the back and west side of our house, it was beautiful.

After we moved I had a fun yellow plant inside that lasted forever, it seemed and I learned how to make Walmart bouquets last extra long!!!

Since Valentine's Day was just this last Sunday I thought it might be appropriate to share with you now so your blooms of love will last a little extra long (husbands, you're welcome and props for thinking enough to grab some beauty for your beauty!!!).

First up, grab your bouquet, a pair of scissors, extra plan food that you might have lying around, your vase and some water that's just a little warmer than room temperature. You might want to grab a paper towel too. For those of you that see better in list form (I know I do):

You'll Need:

• bouquet


• scissors


• plant food


• vase


• warm water


• paper towel (optional)

After you have everything together you are going to pull your flowers out if you've already put them in a vase and dump your current water out.

Fill your vase with fresh, warm water. You want to make sure the water is slightly warmer than room temperature, but not too much warmer. Your flowers will suffer "shock" if their water is too warm or too cold and dye faster.

Once you've added new water, you can go ahead and pour the plant food into the water. If you don't have any, don't worry, they will last just as long if you continue to do this routine frequently.


After you've re-prepped (or prepped for the first time) your water you can take a look at your stems. After your flowers have sat in the water for any amount of time, the stems will begin to decompose. Trim the ends of your stems off, it doesn't have to be a lot, just enough to get the old, bad ends off. If this is your first time trimming, you might want to do a little extra off the ends. Also, if you are opening a brand new bouquet, you are going to want to make sure that you don't have any leaves that will be in the water. The leaves will decompose faster and cause the water to contaminate and therein cause your flowers to not last as long.


When you're done trimming, you're all ready to stick your stems back in your vase and enjoy your flowers for longer than normal!!!


It's really that simple. These lovely blooms have lasted me for a week without looking shabby. They just came from a Walmart bin, they're kind of rough this time of year but with a little extra attention, you can get your flowers to last just a titch longer!!!


How long did your lovely blooms last you when you tried this method?