Fact or Fiction?: Vodka and Citrus Sodas Keep Cut Flowers Fresh (2024)

FAQs

Is vodka good for fresh cut flowers? ›

Vodka has a different effect on a bouquet of flowers: When added to a vase, it preserves them, probably by inhibiting ethylene production, Dole says. Ethylene is a ripening gas emitted by plants that helps them mature. Inhibiting this gas could slow wilting. Vodka, however, is not a very viable preservative.

Soda. Pour about 1/4 cup of your leftover soda into the water in a vase full of cut flowers. The sugar in the soda will make the blossoms last longer. Use clear soda if you have clear vase, like Sprite or 7-Up.

If you don't have vinegar and/or sugar, lemon-lime soda mixed with the water will do the same thing. Step 4: Remove all lower leaves from flowers so there won't be any in the water. Step 5: Cut 1 to 2 inches off the stems at an angle while they are under water.

Vodka: Add a few drops of vodka (or any clear spirit) to your vase of flowers. Vodka is said to have a different effect on flowers. The spirit's ability to inhibit ethylene production, a ripening gas that helps plants mature, slows the wilting of the flowers.

Fresh, clean water will keep your cut flowers alive longer. Remove the flowers from the vase every two or three days, rinse the vase out, and fill it with fresh water. If you have dying foliage, be sure to remove it. Placing your arrangement in the fridge overnight will also help extend your flower's life.

Dissolve 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons white vinegar per quart (liter) of warm water. When you fill the vase, make sure the cut stems are covered by 3-4 inches (7-10 centimeters) of the prepared water. The sugar nourishes the plants, while the vinegar inhibits bacterial growth.

Mix a ¼ cup of soda into the water and watch how your blooms stay perky with a sugary beverage, just like a kid with a can of Sprite. In fact, that's the type of soda recommended, since a dark drink like co*ke or Pepsi will turn the water cloudy.

Soda. Don't throw away those last drops of soda! Pour about 1/4 cup into the water in a vase full of cut flowers. The sugar in the soda will make the blossoms last longer.

Any of the fungicide products (bleach, baking soda, vodka) combined with soda or sugar and some form of acid do a good job of keeping flowers fresh.

Dropping a copper penny into the vase. The reason pennies are considered a smart way to keep flowers alive longer is because copper is a fungicide, so it naturally kills off those pesky bacteria and fungi that are trying to camp out in your flowers' vase and shorten the life span of your stems.

Is Coca Cola good for flowers? ›

In the end Coca-Cola is very bad for plants and causes for them to dry up faster, die quicker, grow smaller and not to grow as many leaves. My experiment showed that Coca-Cola is not good for plant growth.

The absorption of these nutrients encourages more rapid growth in the plant. Therefore, pouring soda on plants, such as Classic Coca Cola, is inadvisable. co*ke has a jaw dropping 3.38 grams of sugar per ounce, which would certainly kill the plant, as it would be unable to absorb water or nutrients.

Did you know? Adding Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach to flower vase water keeps flowers healthy and last longer! When microorganisms multiply in plain vase water, they block the flower stem and make it hard for the stem to absorb water for nutrients — causing wilt and odors!

Sugar increases fresh weight of the flowers and prolongs the vase life. Use 0.5 - 1% Floralife (concentration of sugar not specified). 2% sugar solution doubles the vase life of the cut inflorescence. Some sugar in the vase solution increases the number and size of open flowers as well as prolongs the vase life.

Mix 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with 2 tablespoons of white sugar and add the mixture to the water before replacing the plants. 5. If your flowers start to wilt, place them in warm water for 30 minutes. This trick only works with non-bulb flowers, but it can perk up sagging stems in a pinch.

To keep your bouquet strong and healthy, try this super-simple flower tip: Store the flowers in the refrigerator overnight. It'll help slow down the process of water loss and keep your blooms looking crisp. To store the flowers properly, fill a vase about ¾ full with water, and then put the flowers in the vase.

Along the way, they debunk one myth after another. One of the most surprising findings is that freshly picked flowers should be placed in cold water, not warm. With a few exceptions, warm temperatures rob the flower of food and water, often resulting in dehydration.

As strange as it sounds, you can actually water plants with milk. Even if you can't drink it yourself, it makes for a stellar fertilizer. According to Gardening Know How, expired milk is loaded with calcium, protein, vitamins, and sugars that can help give your plants an added boost and help them grow big and strong.

The theory is that the sugar in the Sprite acts as flower food, which in turn helps the flowers stay fresh and keep drinking water.

Does lemonade make cut flowers last longer? ›

The Great British Florist suggests that you can make flowers last longer by simply adding a small glass of fizzy lemonade to the water. “The mix of acid and sugar helps to stop bacteria and therefore helps the life of your flowers.”

Citrus soda, such as 7 Up and Sprite, can effectively make flower water both acidic and sugary, Susan Han, a UMA plant physiologist, told Scientific American. Han recommends concocting a solution of one part soda and three parts water, along with a few drops of microbe-killing bleach.

Adding a pinch of Epsom salt once or twice a month will greatly help them to absorb nutrients, making cut flowers stay fresh for longer and helping plants and herbs with healthy growth.

But it's not all bad news. You can stave off bacteria in your bunch with simple techniques, like rinsing and refilling your vase and clipping your stems. Some florists even swear by adding a few drops of bleach or dish soap to the water, according to Reader's Digest.

Brands such as Bayer are excellent for this easy at home gardening tip but make sure you steer clear of substitutes such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Those types of pain relievers will kill the flowers due to their chemical composition.

The most common antibacterial products used for fresh flowers are bleach and spirits, such as vodka or gin.

The rule of thumb for traditional arrangements is that the length of the flower stems should be no more than one and a half to two times the height of a vase.

Sugar nourishes plants, whilst vinegar prevents bacterial growth. Dissolving 3 spoons of sugar and 2 spoons of white vinegar of mild warm water and placing flowers until the stems are covered 3 – 4 inches will keep the arrangement looking fresh longer.

Human hair could be used instead of chemical fertilizers for some plants like lettuce, new research in a horticultural journal suggests. The hair, which is manufactured into cubes from barbershop and hair-salon waste, provides nitrogen for plants as it decomposes, just as natural-gas-derived sources like ammonia do.

Apparently, slugs don't like Coca-Cola, possibly because it's so very acid (the pH of freshly opened Coca Cola is about 2.5: extremely acid). Beer does a better job of trapping slugs (see Attracting Slugs With Beer: Myth or Reality?), but even beer is a very poor slug control method.

Is apple juice good for plants? ›

While apples do contain sugar, using unsweetened apple juice on plants will have little negative effect on growing plants but probably no benefit either. Citrus juices such as orange or grapefruit all contain sugars in the form of disaccharides and polysaccharides, but citrus peels are often included in fertilizers.

Coffee grounds (and brewed coffee) are a source of nitrogen for plants, producing healthy green growth and strong stems. Coffee also contains calcium and magnesium — both of which are beneficial to plant health. To use coffee as a plant fertilizer, you'll need to dilute it. It should look like weak tea.

Sprite — Sprite makes the water more acidic, which means it can travel up the stem of the flower more quickly. Also, the sugar serves as food for the flower.

Fertilize Plants

Though it may sound counter intuitive, you can actually use your leftover wine to fertilize your plants. Wine has nitrogen, which makes a great addition to your composting bin.

Jill says that the peroxide kills germs in the vase and on the stems that would encourage bacteria to grow in the water. The bacteria shortens the lifespan of the cut flowers. Plus, hydrogen peroxide has an extra oxygen molecule in it and that, in small amounts, is good for plants.

Early morning is the ideal time to cut fresh flowers. The flowers have had the benefit of cool night air and morning dew. Their stems are filled with water and carbohydrates and so are firm to the touch. As the day warms up, flowers gradually dehydrate.

Sugar and apple cider vinegar is a quick fix to make flowers open up quickly, but change that water daily. Don't put flowers in bleach. Just don't.

Added sugar is unhealthy when consumed in excess. However, liquid sugar may be especially harmful. Research shows that getting sugar in liquid form is much worse than getting it from solid food. This is why high sugar beverages like soda are among the worst things you can put into your body.

Not only are plant roots unable to take in sugar, giving them sugar dissolved in water even blocks the roots from absorbing water. And a plant that does not get water wilts and eventually dies. Plants do photosynthesis on their own, self-regulating the amount of sugar they produce to grow.

Keep flowers as cool as possible, but avoid putting them in your fridge, if you can. Florists' coolers range from 33° to 40°F, so your fridge likely won't be cool enough and any fruit or vegetables could emit ethylene gas, which shortens the life of cut flowers.

Does putting flowers in the freezer preserve them? ›

Fresh Flowers & Roses should not be placed in either the refrigerator or the freezer! The Refrigerator generally hosts a variety of fruits & vegetables that emit ethylene gases which can shorten the life or even kill your fresh flowers & roses. The Freezer is simply too cold!

Yes, it can! Crushing an aspirin tablet into the water of the vase will help keep flowers fresher for longer. Simply place aspirin tablets on a plate and crush them by using the back of a spoon. This will form a powder that you can pour into your vase of roses.

Those paperwhites and other daffodils sure could use a drink -- a little whiskey, vodka, gin or tequila could keep them from falling over. A new Cornell study finds that a touch of booze is a great way to keep certain houseplants from getting too tall by stunting their growth.

This three-step process consists of soaking flowers in ethyl alcohol, then soaking them in polypropylene glycol, followed by a rinse with ethyl alcohol. Some kinds of flowers processed in this manner retained their natural color and texture for at least 6 months.

Can I use alcoholic beverages in the garden? Alcoholic beverages contain ethanol, but they can also contain sugars and other organic matter that can foster the growth of bacteria and fungi that can kill plants. Thus, it is not recommended to use alcoholic drinks on plants.

Plants produce ethylene, a ripening gas that promotes maturation. Vodka stunts ethylene production, thereby helping flowers stay wilt-free longer.

Vinegar mixture: Fill a shallow saucer with 2-3 drops of liquid dish soap and a cup of white vinegar. Place the bowl near your plant — the gnats will be attracted to the solution and fall into the trap. Keep repeating the process until all the gnats are gone.

Though vinegar can be fatal to many common plants, others, like rhododendrons, hydrangeas and gardenias, thrive on acidity which makes a bit of vinegar the best pick-me-up. Combine one cup of plain white vinegar with a gallon of water and use the next time you water these plants to see some amazing results.

Any of the fungicide products (bleach, baking soda, vodka) combined with soda or sugar and some form of acid do a good job of keeping flowers fresh.

Vodka commonly acts as a preservative. If you throw an ounce of vodka into a syrup, it makes syrup last longer, according to Greenwood.

Does ginger ale keep flowers fresh? ›

Don't use diet soda because there's no sugar and make sure it's a clear variety, like Sprite. Colas or even ginger ale won't work for this!

Use Rubbing Alcohol

Kill spider mites by combining a mixture of 1 cup of rubbing alcohol and 4 cups of water, then spray the solution on your plants. Cover the stems, flowers, and foliage thoroughly. Rubbing alcohol kills spider mites by dehydrating them.

Washing plant foliage using a soft cloth or a forceful spray of lukewarm water can help reduce the spider mite population if done repeatedly. Other control options include treating plants with an insecticide containing permethrin or pyrethrin. Insecticidal soap and horticultural oil are also effective.

Spider mites are plant-eating mites that look like tiny spiders and attack more than 180 types of plants. In cool climates they spend the winter resting in soil; in warmer regions they live and feed year-round.

Isopropyl alcohol can be toxic to pets

You shouldn't spray or pour isopropyl alcohol onto your pet's fur or skin in an attempt to kill fleas. This toxic chemical is easily absorbed through the skin, and in large enough amounts it's poisonous to pets.

Diluted expired milk is great for watering your plants! Calcium is a nutrient essential to plant health.