apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

why bleach? what does that do for the flowers?

It says right there in the posting that bleach slows fungi and bacteria growth.

Even so, I'd be chicken to put bleach in the water of an expensive arrangement unless the actual florist they came from said it was OK.

Where did these' 'tips' come from? Source?

wow -- thanks. I guess I should be focusing on work and not on skimming AT posts...good to know though!

I've also heard that adding a penny to the water is supposed to stem some fungus growth. True?

I think I first heard about bleach in the water from Martha Stewart...

Someone - Real Simple maybe - did a comparison of the homemade choices and flower food stapled to the flower paper by florists. The flowers that lasted the longest were ones treated with the packet of flower food. All the other rules apply (changing water, cutting ends, removing leaves).

you can also use Hydrogen Peroxide in place of bleach.

The penny might be 'cause copper is naturally anti-fungal.

I've been trying a florist that doesn't include flower food. Two gorgeous bouquets died like dogs. The first was an arrangement of gorgeous dahlias and a rose. The dahlias died in two days! The rose in seven. The second bouquet was all roses. Six died in seven days, the seventh took a couple more days. They hadn't even fully bloomed.

Is it really safe to use bleach as a flower preserving agent?

I guess I should ask and consult this with my friend who works as a Tacoma florist

how would apartment therapy: green feel about owning and using bleach?!

One word of warning - I collect old 'frogs' (holders for cut flowers that sit in the bottom of the vase) and use them for flower arrangements. I was sad to find out that putting even a little bleach in the water can really mess up the surface of a painted frog. Maybe that should have been obvious.... I just started to try the penny trick and it seems to be working.

Good advice. Definitely bleach, sugar, and lemon juice. Sugar is the food, bleach prevents aging, as does lemon juice. I have a large garden of roses and have researched this for some time. It often comes back to this recommendation. Some gardeners use a sprite type of beverage, which takes care of the citrus and the sugar. Me, I'm lazy, so I use packages of Chrysal in the water, but always, always, cut the flowers before I put them in the vase. The next thing I have to figure out, which is a controversy, is putting warm or cold water in the vase. And, one more thing...many gardeners swear by refrigerating the vase for several hours first.

i've had a bunch of tulips in a sterling silver julep cup and i am amazed at how beautiful they are...didnt do much but cut the stems at an angle under running water. maybe the silver does something positive to the water...?

goodnightdean: Dunno about the silver, but tulips are the Superman of the flower world. We used to live in Holland, where I think it was actually illegal to not have tulips in your house ;), and those things would last forever! Keep them in a cool place at night and they'll last longer than forever.

The bleach thing does indeed work. Obviously not good if you have pets or children in the house, though...

Silver is used in prescription creams for burns - it has an anti-bacterial effect, so I think goodnightdean is onto something with the julep cup. I may have to get one much as I hate polishing silver. They've a nice size for a small night table arrangement.

Lorca- any advice on sources for flower frogs? One huge regret I have is that when my Grammie sold her house, I didn't ask for the brown pottery bowl with a built in frog that she used to put zinnias in ever summer... I have one of those japanese ikebana pin things you put inthe bottom of a vase I sometimes use, but a frog is much easier. I've never seen a pianted one though, only clear glass or ones that are part of the vase.

Isn't it amazing we all survived childhoods full of bleach and bike riding without helmets and non-organic foods? I'm getting post-traumatic stress disorder just thinking about it!

Silver is a powerful antibiotic - I'm not surprised flowers last longer in a silver vase. Peroxide is a decent alternative to chlorine bleach, although I don't think I'd use either in a silver container (or lemon juice, for that matter).