Selecting Roses
Start by looking at the buds; all rose buds are not created equally. Look for buds that are unraveling at the tip. Roses generally open by unfurling a petal at a time in a spiral pattern. Next, gently squeeze the bud; soft buds have been kept in the cooler too long, and hard buds or "bullets" were cut too early and will not open. So, you want to look for firm buds that are beginning to open at the tip.
Caring for Cut Roses
- Leave at least three leaves on each stem. These will help provide nourishment to the bloom.
- Cut off any leaves that will be below your vase's water level. Leaves below the water will rot and shorten the life of your blooms.
- Next, pour hot water into a bowl (as hot as your hands can stand), add a couple drops of bleach and floral preservative.
- Place the rose stems in the hot water solution, being sure the buds do not touch the water. Let the roses sit in the solution for just a couple minutes.
- Remove the roses from the solution one at a time, and trim the ends on the diagonal 1/4 inch using clean, sharp scissors.
- Put the roses back into the solution until the temperature reaches lukewarm, appx. 1 hour.
- Now, you can put your beautiful new roses into your vase. Start with a clean vase. Fill your vase with warm water, a few drops of bleach, and flower preservatives. Refrigerate your flowers for about 2 hours before putting them out.
- When the water clouds, remove the roses, replace the old water with fresh hot water and a couple drops of bleach. Return the roses to the vase immediately.
- When your roses start wilting, you can trim off about an 1/8 inch of the stem end (always on a diagonal), put the roses into a bowl of hot water for about an hour, and return them to the vase.
Using clean scissors and containers is very important if you want to extend the life of your blooms. Unclean implements will spread bacteria to your flowers. Use hot water and bleach to kill that nasty bacteria; do not just rinse.
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