If you love the look of roses in your living room, but don’t want to grow roses indoors, learning to care for a rose bouquet is a great idea.
How long cut roses last depends on what kind of care you give them, so pay close attention to the following tips!
How to take care of roses in a vase?
To take care of roses in a vase, first choose a dark vase and clean it before use. Cut the stems at a forty-five-degree angle so they can better absorb water. Fill your vase with lukewarm water and dissolve some flower food into it. Choose a shady spot for your roses. Change the water regularly.
1. Clean your vase
While it is tempting to take your vase off the shelf and fill it water straight away, you will be doing your roses a disservice if you do.
To make sure your roses have the best possible chance at a long “vase life”, you will want to wash your vase thoroughly before use. Clean out any grime or dust that may be sitting in it and dry the inside using a tea towel.
2. Use a dark vase
It is best to use a ceramic or dark green or blue glass vase. Clear vases allow sunlight to reach the water, and this can cause rose stems to decay.
If you only have a clear glass vase, be sure to keep it somewhere out of the sun.
3. Cut your rose stems
Regardless of whether you have just cut your roses off a garden bush or have received them from a friend, you will want to snip an inch off the end of the stems before placing the roses into the vase for the first time.
Cutting your rose stems at a forty-five-degree angle will enable them to soak up water more easily.
Have you ever wondered how long cut roses can stay out of water? The short answer is not that long.
Try to submerge them in water immediately after cutting them. As soon as rose stems have been cut, they begin to seal up. Do not leave cut roses lying around, as this defeats the whole purpose of trimming them in the first place!
To help your roses continue to absorb water to the best of their ability, you can cut off another centimeter or two every day.
4. Use lukewarm water
Using water that is too cold or too hot can shock your roses and cause them to wilt. If in doubt, filter water and allow it to sit around for several hours before using it. This will ensure the water is room temperature.
5. Use flower food
Store-bought bouquets have a reputation for lasting longer than those composed of flowers cut from our own gardens. In reality, however, this has a lot to do with the fact that store-bought bouquets come with pouch of a liquid of powdered flower food.
You can make your garden bouquets last longer by using such flower food. Simply add it to the water before putting your flowers in your vase for the first time. Add it again every time you change the water in your vase.
You can purchase flower food in individual packets or in bottles. Alternatively, you can make homemade flower food.
To make a homemade flower food for a single bouquet, combine a teaspoon of vinegar, a teaspoon of bleach and a tablespoon of sugar. This solution can be poured directly into the water in your vase.
Sugar provides energy for your flowers, while bleach kills any bacteria that may be growing in your vase.
6. Choose a shady spot
Even if you have a dark glass or ceramic vase, it is still a good idea to place your flowers out of direct sunlight. The cooler and shadier their location, the better.
If you receive roses as a gift during the wintertime, make sure you keep them well away from any source of indoor heating.
Have a look at this essential guide to houseplant light levels, and consider your bouquet to have the same requirements as a low-light plant.
7. Change the water every day
Even if you clean your vase thoroughly before use, and are using a flower food that contains bleach, bacteria will likely still grow in the water you are keeping your roses in.
The best way to make sure your flowers are not drinking stagnant, unhealthy water, is to change it every day. This also gives you the opportunity to clean your vase and re-trim your rose stems.
If you can’t quite get around to changing the water every day, try changing it every other day.
While changing your water, you can also prune any yellowing or rotting leaves from your roses and remove struggling roses from the bouquet.
8. Prune your roses
While it may sound silly to prune roses that have already been cut, doing so may just keep your roses healthy for longer.
If you see any yellowing or rotting bits on your flowers, cut them off immediately.
Here is a lost of the best flowers you can gift your mother on Mother’s Day.
Conclusion
When you put them there, your roses will last longer in a vase if they are already in good condition.
Make sure you know how to look out for bugs on your roses, as well as for pests such as aphids on roses.
Know all the tell-tale signs of rose problems, including drooping roses and yellowing rose leaves.
If you are daydreaming about having a bouquet of homegrown roses, but your roses aren’t blooming, read up on why this is happening so that you can fix the problem.
Daniel has been a plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He owns hundreds of houseplants and prepares for the chili growing seasons yearly with great anticipation. His favorite plants are plant species in the Araceae family, such as Monstera, Philodendron, and Anthurium. He also loves gardening and is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, and many more vegetables.