How To Clean Vases & Keep Flowers Lasting Longer

Vase care is just as important as flower care and can even keep your blooms lasting longer. Keep your flowers lush and lively with these vase cleaning and flower care tricks from the pros at Poppy Flowers.

“Cut flowers are sensitive to even the slightest changes in their environment, and since vases are an integral part of flower arranging, we are especially careful with cleaning them,” says Cameron Hardesty, CEO and Founder of Poppy Flowers.

The best way to keep your vases clean is to first wipe down the vase with a towel or Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth to remove any grime left from previous flowers. Add warm water with a tablespoon of Scented Vinegar to get your vase clean.

If the grime is especially stubborn, make a paste of Scented Vinegar and a capful of All-Purpose Bleach Alternative and let it soak overnight. In the morning, rinse clean with hot water. If needed, rinse the outside of the vase only with Dish Detergent.

“There is also nothing better than outsourcing scrubbing with Alka Seltzer or denture tabs,” says Hardesty. “Fill the vase halfway with water and drop in two tabs. Let the effervescent bubbles do all the cleaning. Rinse out the vase with warm water and wipe with a cloth.”

• Give Them A Drink: Get them in water as soon as you get them. Cut your stems at a 45 degree angle, which results in a larger surface area, as opposed to a straight cut. This allows for your flowers to soak up as much as possible.
• Keep Leaves & Petals Dry: Cut any foliage under the waterline to reduce the growth of bacteria. Removing leaves also ensures that your blooms don’t share water and plant food.
• Plant Food Is Critical: It is a mix of sugar, acid that keep pH levels stable, and bleach to ensure bacterial growth is limited. Make sure you mix one teaspoon of plant food with water. If you don’t have plant food, mix one teaspoon of sugar as flower food and 1 drop of bleach to keep bacteria away.
• Social distance your flowers: Give them enough space so they are not tightly packed in the vase.
• Change your water every day or every other day and add plant food. Keep your stems clean by cutting your stems slightly and at a 45 degree angle every time you change the water in your vase.
• Location location location! Keep your flowers away from sunlight and away from anything that release ethylene gas (bowl of fruit, wilting flowers/foliage)