With a little care, your flowers will last a long time. Take a few momenst to read the following brief guide to making your blooms last. With just a couple of minutes work your fresh flowers will keep their sparkle for a lot longer

If your flowers are tied, be careful not to cut the tie as this may spoil the arrangement. Make sure the vase is clean, bacteria can quickly build up and spoil your blooms. Use warm water for your flowers, this will help them last

Before putting them in water take off any leaves that would be below the water line, as they will rot and be harmful to your flowers as they consume the large amounts of nutrient in the water which your flowers need. Make sure you cut off the bottoms of the stems under water so that air bubbles will not trap in the stems and slow the absorbtion of water to the bloom. Cut the stems at an angle about 3/4" from the bottom with a sharp knife, this way it gives the stem a bigger area to absorb water and stops the stem flatening itself on the bottom of the vase preventing water being drawn up. Place them in clean, fresh water for an hour before arranging in the vase

Finally, add a few drops of ordinary household bleach to the water to protect against algae and also add a small spoonful of sugar or a commercially produced flower food

Cut flowers never usually last long in warm conditions so try to avoid placing your flowers on or near warm radiators, in drafts or in direct sunshine. if you have your plants in a warm room, try and keep them in a cold room in overnight!

If you find that your flowers are wilting, then completely imerse them into cold water for a couple of hours