Caring for Your LRUF Fresh-Cut Flowers

The Little Rock Urban Farming stand is always full of beautiful bouquets ready for the passerby to pick up for their kitchen table. This season, the bouquets are primarily filled with a colorful array of zinnias and celosia which can last for nearly a week if properly cared for. While it is not necessary to tend to your flowers in order to enjoy them for several days, we thought it would be helpful to provide a few care tips in order to maximize the life and quality of your flowers. Here they are:

1. When you get home, cut about an inch of the stem off with a sharp knife (scissors can crush the stem). This will open healthy vascular tissue for the flowers to absorb water and nutrients. Cutting at an angle will provide more surface area for water absorption.
2. Keep your flowers out of direct sunlight and heat, as they can cause wilting.
3. Change the water every two days, and cut a bit of the stem off when you do.
4. Add about a teaspoon of sugar per cup of water for nutrients.
5. Lastly, a couple tablespoons of vinegar added to your vase will prevent harmful bacteria and fungi from chowing down on vascular tissue. This will help your flowers stay fresh!

Conventional flower production incurs many of the same problems of conventional food production: poor working conditions, heavy pesticide use, long transportation distances to consumers, and the unsustainability of monocultures. LRUF uses sustainable practices and picks our flowers fresh for market. Feel good about your purchase of local flowers, and keep them looking their best with these simple tips.