Freshly cut tulips in a vase conjure up a spring atmosphere in your home for up to 10 days. In order for the classics to last over this long period of time, attentive care is essential. This guide looks at all aspects in detail. This is how a tulip bouquet stays fresh for a long time.
How do tulips stay fresh for a long time in the vase?
To keep tulips in a vase fresh for as long as possible, you should cut the stems in the morning, use sharp knives, clean the vase thoroughly and fill it with cold water. You should also use fresh-keeping products and place the bouquet in a bright, cool location without direct sunlight or drafts.
Cut in the morning hours
If the tulips for the vase come from your own garden, choosing the right time to cut them has a significant influence on their durability. In addition, the quality of the cutting tool determines the fate of cut flowers. How to do it right:
- Cut tulips early in the morning, before the constitution is weakened by the heat of the day
- Select flowers with tightly closed but colored buds
- Only cut in the evening hours provided that the day was not too hot
- Cut the flower stems close to the ground with a sharp, disinfected knife
Please do not use scissors to cut tulips. Using a sharp knife ensures that the vital pathways are not crushed.
Adjust skillfully – How to do it professionally
When the stem is cut, the water supply to flowers and leaves is interrupted. Therefore, allow as little time as possible to pass before you put the tulips in the vase. This is especially true for store-bought flowers. Please put the tulip bouquet as the last item on your shopping list so that you can put it in the water as soon as possible. Regardless of its origin from the bed or store, follow these steps:
- Cut the stem ends with a clean, freshly sharpened knife
- First remove the white tissue and then cut off at least 0.5-1.0 cm of the flower stem
- Make the cut either straight or at an angle
A densely leafy flower stem should be stripped of its foliage except for one or two leaves, which remain on it as decoration. Unnecessary foliage costs the tulip an unnecessary amount of energy that would be better invested in flowering.
Vase better tall and slim instead of short and bulbous
One of the characteristics of tulips is that they continue to grow in the vase. Since the opening flower cups also gain weight, the flowers in a container that are too short will quickly droop their heads. To counteract this dilemma, please choose a vase that is approximately two-thirds the height of the tulip. Here the spring beauties can lean elegantly and maintain a tightly upright posture until the end.
Cleanliness is the top priority
One of the most common causes of a devastatingly short lifespan for tulips is the use of unclean vases. If there are still tiny residues from previous bouquets, this is the ideal breeding ground for bacteria and rot. Therefore, clean the vase meticulously with hot water before placing the tulips in it.
Cold water – the elixir of life for tulips
The water requirement of tulips in the vase is significantly higher than in the bed. Therefore, top up daily to two finger widths below the edge of the container. Cold water, straight from the tap, keeps the cut flowers vital and fresh. Lukewarm or even hot water softens the flower stalks and significantly weakens the tulips.
Re-cut brown ends
Refilling the water in the vase is an excellent opportunity to inspect the ends of the flower stems. After a few days, these gradually turn brown, which indicates rot and affects the flower's water supply. Take the affected tulips out of the vase and trim the stems. This measure exposes unused pipe ends and strengthens vitality.
Freshener in the flower water – yes or no?
The florist usually gives you the fresh-keeping agent for free. Such preparations not only contain supplementary nutrients, but are optimized with antibacterial substances. Although the water contains all the important nutrients for tulips, the other additions make a valuable contribution to the durability of the cut flowers. It is therefore worth purchasing flower food for your flowers from your own garden. A nutrient solution in liquid form is ideal, which is simply added to the water according to the manufacturer's instructions.
The right location
If you follow this guide, you will have set the course for many days of joyful enjoyment of brightly colored tulips in the vase. Finally, please pay attention to choosing the ideal location. Tulipas feel in good hands here:
- Bright, not full sun location
- No cold draft
- Not over an active radiator
The flowers are completely happy when they can spend the night in a cooler place with temperatures between 12 and 15 degrees Celsius.
Tip
All efforts to ensure a long shelf life are wasted if tulips come into contact with apples, peaches, plums or other ripening fruits. Please do not place the vase in the immediate vicinity of the fruit basket. The fruits inside emit the ripening gas ethylene, which promotes wilting in tulips.