| I grow many flowers and use as many as possible for cut flower arrangements. However, when I pick Black-eyed Susans or Melampodium, they wilt immediately in water. Is there any thing I can put in the water to prevent this or is this just the nature of the flowers? |
| The vascular systems of some plant stems just naturally collapse more rapidly than others. You can try cutting flowers very early in the morning and immediately plunging them into a container of cold water. Or you can try placing freshly cut flowers in a container of water and placing it in the refrigerator for several hours before using them in arrangements. If neither of these treatments works well for you, try holding a match to the cut stem long enough to singe the end. This will trap the moisture in the cells and keep the flower from wilting. Of course the stem won't be able to take up additional water, so the flower will last only a few days - but it will look spectacular! |
