In the Garden Articles

Keep Your Valentine's Day Flowers Fresh

by Joan S. Bolton

White and blue delphiniums flank pink cosmos and Johnson's Blue geraniums.

Valentine's Day presents a bit of a conundrum for gardeners. On the one hand, we've been persuaded that no Valentine's Day greeting is complete without flowers. On the other, it's not the easiest season to gather a full bouquet from our gardens.

Instead, the clearest course may be to join the one in four adults who queue up to buy fresh flowers. Roses are the runaway favorites. Nearly 214 million were produced for Valentine's Day 2008, according to the Society of American Florists. But other flowers, mixed bouquets and potted plants are popular, too.

Regardless of what you choose, there are steps that you can take to make sure that your flowers last more than a few days.

Cut Flowers

Opening Night hybrid tea rose. Photo: All-America Rose Selections.

Fresh, clean water is key to preserving a traditional Valentine's Day bouquet.

Start by filling your vase most of the way with bottled or distilled water. If it looks like your stems won't reach the bottom, add clean pebbles or marbles to lift the "ground" level. If the mouth is too wide, wedge a piece of crumpled chicken wire inside to help hold the flowers in place.

Next, add the preservative that came with the blooms, or a few drops of bleach and several teaspoons of lemon-lime (not diet) soda.

But before you immerse the flowers, strip off any leaves or wispy stems that will sit below the water line. Premium, long-stemmed roses should already have been shorn, while bouquets from supermarkets, street vendors and other sources may have lingering leaves.

Apeldoorn tulips sit pretty in this glossy green pitcher. Photo: Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center.

Keep the foliage that will rise above the waterline. Otherwise, your flowers may look a little naked, and fat buds perched atop spindly stems can be difficult to work with. In the case of roses, the foliage fortifies the buds and helps sustain their color as they unfurl.

Next, use sharp scissors or bypass pruners to cut off 1 to 2 inches of each stem, then immediately plunge each stem into the water. Make your cuts at an angle to expose the largest surface area possible. That way the stems can absorb more water to circulate up to the flowers. If the stems are crushed or clogged, the flowers will wilt faster.

Once you've arranged your flowers, finish filling the vase. Use a pitcher or turkey baster to avoid spills.

As for floral preservative: its use is threefold.

Hefty Delft Blue hyacinths are appealing in a low broad bowl. Fragrance is a bonus. Photo: Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center.

First, preservatives contain some form of sugar to help the buds open properly, retain their color and prolong their lives.

But sugar encourages bacteria and fungus, both of which are the kiss of death for cut flowers. So most preservatives contain chlorine bleach as an inhibitor.

In addition, some preservatives include citric acid, which can enhance the stems' ability to take up water, which keeps the flowers hydrated longer.

In "Garden to Vase," published by Timber Press, author Linda Beutler suggests mixing a 12-ounce can of nondiet lemon-lime clear soda with three 12-ounce cans of water and a tablespoon of chlorine bleach. Refrigerate the solution, and you can use it for up to 10 days.

Regardless of the formula, be sure to change the water every few days. Even if you run out of preservative, changing the water and making fresh cuts every day or two will prolong the life of your arrangement.

Bulbs

Set the scene with red tulips, heart-shaped red paper cut-outs and candies. Photo: Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center.

The flower bulb industry seems to have taken on the popularity of Valentine roses as a challenge, and is ramping up its promotion of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and the like. You might find these offerings as just another component in a mixed bouquet. Or you can purchase a single type by the dozen, such as a dozen perfect tulips. In addition, some growers are selling ready-to-bloom bulbs in pots, including a crossover from Christmas -- tall-stemmed, red and white amaryllis.

But there are a few quirks to keeping your bulb flowers looking fresh.

With tulips, still make the fresh diagonal cuts on the stems. But don't worry about providing preservative. Just keep at least one leaf at the top of each stem, which will provide the smidgeon of sugar that the flowers need to develop.

Prop daffodils at an angle in a broad-mouthed vase. Photo: Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center.

Interestingly, cut tulips can grow an inch or two while they're in a vase. If it seems like they're getting leggy, it's because they truly are. They gulp water in the process, so check the level every day and give them a fresh cut and fresh water every few days.

Daffodils are fussy to get started, as they exude sap that mucks up vase water in no time. Make your fresh cuts, then submerge the stems in a bucket of water for 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer the bunch to a second bucket of water for another 20 to 30 minutes, then inspect the stems. If they are still oozing, soak them for an additional 20 to 30 minutes. If they've stopped, they're ready to arrange.

If you're combining your daffodils with other flowers, go ahead and use a preservative. But don't bother, if your cheery trumpets are going solo.

Potted Plants

Container-grown flowers are not nearly as picky as cut flowers, as they're alive, anchored in soil and don't risk immediate ruin from tainted water.

Rainer Scarlet and Rainer White cyclamen. Photo: Goldsmith Seeds.

Options run from single pots of florist-quality azaleas to fragrant gardenias, exotic orchids and sturdy cyclamen, which bear fancy, heart-shaped leaves. For those who love to dig in the dirt, consider filling a flat basket with a collection of perky annuals. Or wrap up a collection of seed packets and promise your sweetheart that you'll plant a cutting garden that will yield armloads of bouquets later in the year.

In general, indoors, these potted beauties prefer bright, indirect light. Avoid displaying them in a spot where the hot, afternoon sun streams in: they may sunburn. Likewise, left in the dark, they can suffer an agonizing decline.

However, that is one advantage of cut flowers. Unlike their soil-bound sisters, their demise is not hastened by the greenish glow of fluorescent lights.

Water your potted plants at least once a week. Place them in a sink and let the water drain out the bottom. This helps leach any salts or minerals from the water that might otherwise accumulate and stunt the plant's growth.

Phalaenopsis, or moth orchid.

Most of your live Valentine's Day flowers will be happy to be transplanted to the garden after they've finished blooming. Orchids are an exception. They need lots of air on their roots, which is why they're planted in loose bark or sphagnum moss. We can't replicate those conditions in the ground here on the Central Coast. But continue tending your orchids indoors in a spot with bright indirect light, and they may reward you with another set of blooms next Valentine's Day.

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Beware the Sneeze Factor

Roses, the number-one Valentine's Day flowers, don't typically cause allergy attacks.

However, some other popular flowers, including Stargazer lilies and daffodils, may tickle more than your intended's fancy. Make sure that whatever the arrangement, the flowers won't set off an allergic reaction by your sweetheart, or anyone else who stops by.

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Seeds of Wisdom

Leen van der Mark tulips. Photo: Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center.

Firm up your sagging roses or tulips by making a fresh, slanted cut at the base of each stem. Then submerge the entire flower horizontally in a tub of warm water for half an hour to an hour.