What Do Your Flowers Need to Thrive in Warmer Weather?

The Extra TLC Your Flowers Deserve This Summer

Summer weather makes us feel alive and healthy. This is great news for us – but what does warmer weather mean for our flowers? 

As a rule of thumb, indoor plants and flowers do not do well when facing extreme temperature changes. Maintaining a steady, moderate temperature in the high 60s or low 70s without big changes in how much light and humidity fill a space is a good way to keep plants and flowers happy. Here are our tips to keep your favorite blooms healthy so that every petal, leaf, and stem stays perky and fresh for as long as possible.

·   Give flowers and plants filtered light. Once they’re cut, flowers will have a longer life when you keep them in a cool-to-moderate room, out of direct sunlight. Lower your blinds or partially close your curtains during the sunniest hours of the day to avoid scorched petals or greens. On very hot days, flowers should not sit directly near windows. Even open windows on a cloudy day can dehydrate delicate petals. In addition, try to keep your flowers away from your stove or oven. 

·   Change the water and trim the stems. Pro tip: when you get a new bouquet, avoid cutting the stems too short. Why? It’s a good practice to pour out your flowers’ water every couple of days and give the base of the stems a 1-2 inch cut with sharp scissors or shears. Done right, this will mean that over the course of 7-10 days, you will cut down the length of your stems significantly. Fresh, room temperature water in a clean vase helps keep mildew and bacteria from growing at the base of the flowers. Trimmed stem ends allow flowers to absorb water more effectively. Be sure to cut your stems on a diagonal angle so that the base of the stem can rest easily on the bottom of a vase. 

·   Separate your fruit from your flowers. Many favorite fruits stored on the kitchen counter, like bananas, avocados, and apples, produce a gas called ethylene. Ethylene can cause early rotting of flowers and plants. This process happens even faster in warmer kitchens and on hot summer days. 

·   Put flowers to bed in the fridge. That’s right – pop the entire vase, water and all, into the refrigerator at night to increase the flowers’ freshness. 

·   Feed your flowers more than water. Whether or not you have flower food on hand, many household basics have been proven to extend flowers’ healthy appearance in the summer and all year round. A small pour of vodka, a teaspoon of sugar, some apple cider vinegar, and a splash of bleach are all flower additives that have proven successful at maintaining freshness.

Stock up on summer florals at Allen’s Flower Market. We’d love to help design the perfect summer bouquet for you! Stop by our floral design stores in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Reseda, or Sunland.