Flower gardeners enjoy cutting flowers for indoor bouquets and for sharing with friends. A freshly cut flower is a living thing even though it has been removed from the plant. How long the flower lives after cutting is determined by several factors — sufficient sugar and water and absence of bacteria.

Two critical procedures are necessary for optimum life of the flower. The first of these is proper harvesting. Ideally the flower should be cut in the morning, after the dew dries, or in the evening. The evening is best because the flower contains the most sugar at that time. Cool and cloudy days are best, as there is less water loss. The cut flowers should immediately be plunged in water or a preservative.

Keep all flowers, both home grown and from a florist, cool until they can be put in a vase. First remove about a third of the leaves. About one inch of the stem must be cut off and do it under water. This is necessary to prevent an air bubble from forming which prevents the water from entering the stem. At least one inch of the stem must be submerged in the water solution.

Commercial preservatives such as Oasis, Floralife and Rogard are available and may be obtained from your local florist. An excellent homemade preservative is equal parts of a lemon-lime soda such as Sprite and tap water. The solution provides all the essentials to increase the flower life. The sugar in the soda supplies the sugar required by the flower. All sodas are weak carbonic acid and acid is required to retard bacteria growth, which plugs the stem and prevents the sugar from reaching the flower. The weak acid solution also increases the ability of the water solution to travel up the stem. The soda used cannot be a diet drink, as these do not contain sugar.

A common practice is to add aspirin to the water, but this is ineffective. Also, researchers at Vermont University found no difference in the soda-water solution when distilled water was compared to tap water. Water containing fluoride should not be used as fluorides deteriorate some flowers.

Best results are realized when the soda-water mixture is replaced every 3 to 4 days. Cut off about one inch of the stem under the solution each time the solution is renewed.

The life of the flower using the soda-water solution is usually about twice as long as flowers stored in tap water.

The practice of storing flowers in the refrigerator can shorten the life of many blooms. The temperature is ideal for flower storage, but the ethylene gas produced by some fruits also stored in the refrigerator, such as apples, causes rapid deterioration of flowers.

For the longest vase life, the flowers should be displayed out of direct sunlight as this uses up sugar. Low room temperature conserves water and prevents sugar depletion.

Pete Hale is a Master Gardener with the Penn State Master Gardener program.