10 tips to be good to your flowers

To get the most out of your cut flowers, try these techniques:

• Buy flowers that have been kept under refrigeration. If they’ve been sitting out on the sidewalk or in buckets in the produce department, they’ve lost vase life. That doesn’t mean they have to be behind glass: some retailers have special air conditioners that keep the air right around the flowers cool.
  
• Re-hydrate roses and other sturdy flowers by plunging the entire flower and stem under cold water.
  
• Before you put flowers in a vase, make sure the vase is clean and fill it with water. Use sharp scissors or a knife to strip off leaves that will be underwater, then re-cut the stems and place immediately in water.
  
• Commercial flower food really will extend the vase life of flowers.
  
• Keep the flowers in a cool spot out of direct sunlight and away from heater or air conditioning vents, which can dry flowers and cause them to wilt. In dry climates, spritzing the flowers with water may extend their life.
  
• In summer months, consider tropical flowers that naturally grow in warmer climates and last longer at higher temperatures. Examples include orchid, bird of paradise, protea, heliconia, or anthurium.
  
• Change the water, especially if it gets cloudy, and re-cut the stems every few days.
  
• In mixed bouquets, remove flowers when they start to wilt; they may give off ethylene, which could cause other flowers to wilt early, too.
  
• Tulips continue to grow in the vase, and it is natural for the stems to bend and curve.
  
• Lilies may drop pollen that can stain clothes; carefully remove the pollen-covered stamens and use sticky tape (never water!)
  

十個使鮮花更長壽的心得

想鮮花的壽命長久一點，我有以下幾樣的提議：

• 要購買經過雪櫃儲存的鮮花。如果鮮花只是被放置在路旁的桶內而不經過冷卻，鮮花會很花凋謝。不是必定要入雪櫃的，花店亦可有冷氣及保持通風使鮮花持久新鮮。
  
• 剛剛購買的玫瑰或者其它的花葉會失去一點水份。這時候，你可以把整枝花倒置在冷水中大約數秒，使回復花的水份。
  
• 準備好清潔的花瓶，注入水。要用鋒利的剪刀或花剪，剪大約一吋。水面下的葉子一定要除去，否則會腐爛，影響花的壽命。定時修剪莖桿及除去枯葉，亦可以使花擺設更長久。
  
• 使用鮮花保存劑可以大大延長花的壽命。小包的保存劑亦很容易在花店購買得到，價錢亦很便宜。
  
• 最好是把花瓶存放在比較涼快的地方，亦要避免日照。不要放置於熱的電器或熱的風口位置，這樣會使花失去水份而枯乾。在天氣乾燥的日子,可以替花兒灑點水份避免缺水。
  
• 夏日的天氣下，熱帶的植物例如蘭花，紅掌及天堂鳥等，會繼續溫暖的環境下生長，壽命比較長久。
  
• 定時更換花瓶內的水，如果水變得混濁一定要馬上更換。每隔數天把莖部修剪，除去舊的莖幫助花兒重新吸收水份。
  
• 要定時把混合花束中枯萎的花拿掉，因為枯萎的花會釋放乙烯(ethylene)，使其它的花兒凋謝。
  
• 有足夠的養份下，鬱金香會在花瓶內繼續生長，莖部會變彎曲向下。
  
• 百合花的花蕊有花粉會染污衣物，一定要除去。可以用膠紙擇下花蕊，花粉的污漬是很難用水除去的。