Everyone enjoys having fresh flowers in their house to bring some color and cheer into their decor and their day. Flowers are especially lovely during the Christmas holidays where their greens and red, white, and other colorful blooms stand out among the holiday decorations. Following are some ways for you to make your Christmas flowers last right into the New Year and these ideas mean your vases have flowers in them to welcome the New Year.

Water is the single most important thing you can do for your flower arrangements. Since flowers removed from their roots, they tend to dry out quickly once their water is gone. It is fine to fill your vase all the way to the top – just cut off any leaves or flowers that are below the water level. If you do not, they will encourage harmful bacteria to grow and damage your flowers.

To keep your flowers longer change the water every day. Water that has been in the vase for more than a day is unhealthy as it promotes the growth of bacteria too.

As soon as you bring the flowers home, or receive a delivery, trim the stems. This insures that you remove any dried out stem areas before you put them in water. Using a sharp pair of scissors or gardening shears, cut off about one inch of all the stems in the arrangement. Cut them on a diagonal. When cut diagonally and not straight there is a greater exposed surface of the stem ends to absorb water.

Do not stuff too many flowers in a small vase. First, it is ugly, second it is unhealthy for the flowers. They need room to grow and bloom without competing for space.

Keep your flowers in a cool place. Warm air makes the water warm and is another way to encourage the growth of the mortal enemy of flowers – bacteria.

If you follow these suggestions, your holiday floral arrangements should last at least until New Year’s if not longer.

Takeaway:

Change water daily and fill the vase to the top, trim stem on a diagonal every other day, do not let leaves or blooms become water covered, and keep your flowers in a cool spot.