Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.
Close Banner
Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

Want To Keep Cut Flowers Alive For Longer? Here's A Science-Backed Trick

Emma Loewe
Author:
August 25, 2024
Emma Loewe
By Emma Loewe
mbg Contributor
Emma Loewe is the former Sustainability and Health Director at mindbodygreen. She is the author of "Return to Nature: The New Science of How Natural Landscapes Restore Us" and the co-author of "The Spirit Almanac: A Modern Guide To Ancient Self Care." Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,500 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes.
Fresh Spring Flowers in Three Vases On a Table
Image by Marta Locklear / Stocksy
August 25, 2024
We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

Even though we know that flowers bloom and fade in their own time, it's hard to be patient. Whenever we bring a fresh bouquet home, the hope is that it'll stay vivacious and vibrant for as many days as possible.

Thankfully, there are a few ways to play with the water in a cut flower vase to help blooms last longer, and adjusting surrounding air quality can also help stave off decay to a degree.

When it comes to clearing the air so your flowers can stay fresh, ethylene is the name to know. Ethylene is a gaseous hormone that flowers and fruits accumulate and emit as they age. Caren Chang, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Maryland who researches the gas, says that, on the plus side, it helps promote fruit ripening. (It's why you can stick a green tomato into a paper bag with a nearly gone banana. The banana will emit ethylene gas that helps the tomato ripen.)

The downside, Chang explains, is that ethylene can also cause leaves to drop and flower petals to die off. Injured flowers—like those that have just been collected for a bouquet—will give off a lot of ethylene as a last resort, hence why cut flowers tend to lose their vigor relatively quickly. As such, to keep them in good shape for longer, you'll want to minimize their exposure to any excess ethylene gas. Here are two easy ways to do so:

Place them away from fruit bowls

Some plant species emit more ethylene than others. "Tomatoes, apples, bananas, pears, and many other fruits emit a high level of ethylene because, in most plants, the ethylene hormone is an essential hormone for fruit ripening," Chang tells mindbodygreen.

Once in the air, the ethylene that these fruits emit can travel a long way. In the process, it tends to disperse and lose some of its potency. Chang notes that by the time it reaches any nearby flowers, the ethylene from fruits will likely have diffused enough to not be an issue. However, floral stylist Harriet Parry previously told mbg that she's noticed flowers do tend to fade faster when placed next to fruits.

To play it safe, you may want to keep your cut flowers away from your open fruit bowls to prevent premature decay.

Place them away from grills or fire pits

Natural gas and petroleum are also major sources of ethylene (a natural byproduct of combustion), meaning they can be harmful to plant life.

For evidence of this, Chang points to one study conducted on the busy Beltway highway1 in Washington, D.C., that found that the high ethylene levels from car exhaust caused nearby plants to grow stunted. "When the ethylene was chemically removed from the Beltway environment, the plants looked much better," she says. And back in the 1800s, when street lamps were lit with gas, the trees surrounding the street lamps tended to drop their leaves.

For this reason, Chang recommends placing all your plants—cut or not—away from any gas source (car exhaust, fire pits, barbecue grills, oil lanterns, etc.) to keep them growing vigorously.

The takeaway

There are many ways to get a few more colorful days out of your cut flowers.

Besides the basic care tips like cutting their stems at an angle, cleaning out their water, and keeping them away from direct sun, placing them out of ethylene hot spots may help them bloom brighter and longer.

Watch Next

Enjoy some of our favorite clips from classes

Watch Next

Enjoy some of our favorite clips from classes

What Is Meditation?

Mindfulness/Spirituality | Light Watkins

Box Breathing

Mindfulness/Spirituality | Gwen Dittmar

What Breathwork Can Address

Mindfulness/Spirituality | Gwen Dittmar

The 8 Limbs of Yoga - What is Asana?

Yoga | Caley Alyssa

Two Standing Postures to Open Up Tight Hips

Yoga | Caley Alyssa

How Plants Can Optimize Athletic Performance

Nutrition | Rich Roll

What to Eat Before a Workout

Nutrition | Rich Roll

How Ayurveda Helps Us Navigate Modern Life

Nutrition | Sahara Rose

Messages About Love & Relationships

Love & Relationships | Esther Perel

Love Languages

Love & Relationships | Esther Perel

Related Videos (10)

What Is Meditation?

Box Breathing

What Breathwork Can Address

The 8 Limbs of Yoga - What is Asana?

Two Standing Postures to Open Up Tight Hips

How Plants Can Optimize Athletic Performance

What to Eat Before a Workout

How Ayurveda Helps Us Navigate Modern Life

Messages About Love & Relationships

Love Languages

Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

More On This Topic

more Planet
Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.
Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.