The importance of flower food

I’ve been getting puzzled looks when I explained the use of flower food to my customers who purchased fresh cut flowers from me in this country. Many flower lovers are still unaware on the importance of floral preservative and the role it plays to keep the flowers fresh.

Floral preservative or more commonly known as flower food is essential to your fresh cut flowers. Flower food lengthens flowers’ vase life by providing carbohydrates to the flowers, preventing build-up of bacteria in the water, and altering the pH level of water in the vase.

You can make your own flower food at home if you wish to have a more environmental-friendly alternative or if you do not have access to the commercially available ones.

Here’s a simple recipe:

1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of household bleach (preferably eco-friendly bleach)
2 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice
1 quart of lukewarm water

(Source: Rose G. Edinger)

Step 1: Mix all the ingredients together and pour the flower food into a vase.

Step 2: Add your fresh cut flowers into the vase.

Step 3: Change the water in the vase with new flower food every 3 days. Don’t forget to re-cut the flower stems too.

To read more on flower care, please go to Flower Care 101.