How long do flowers last without water?
A fresh bouquet is a perfect gift for many occasions. Whether you received it for your birthday, anniversary or because of a recent promotion, you will want to take care of the floral arrangement and make sure it lasts as long as it can. But often, there are situations where you can’t immediately put the blooms inside the vase. How long do flowers last without water, and what to do to help them? Let’s find out!
How long can flowers last without water?
First, we should discover what happens when flowers don’t have access to water, so we know what we’re risking. The water makes the leaves and petals strong, and when there’s not enough of it, they drop and wilt. How long can flowers go without water? Usually, blooms can last a few hours before they start to wither, and the time will depend on several factors. Which ones? The type of the flower and how fresh it was when it was cut. The temperature and humidity of the air will have an impact as well. It’s worth remembering that types with woody stems are much more resilient than varieties with soft ones. When you purchase fresh flowers, you don’t know their overall conditions so it’s always best to make sure the bouquet gets placed in the water as soon as possible.
Keeping flowers fresh with no water
So how to keep cut flowers fresh without water? There are a couple of things you can do if you don’t have any place to put the bouquet. The key will be providing as much moisture for the blooms as you can. If you don’t want your flowers to wilt, quickly grab a couple of paper towels or tissues and wrap them around the bottom part of the stems - make sure that at least a few inches are covered. Then dip the paper towels or tissues in the water. You can use a sink if you have access and if not, just reach for bottled water. When the bottom part is wet, put it inside a plastic bag and get rid of the air inside - it will only dry out the water. You may want to additionally secure the damp stems with tape, an elastic band, or just tying the bag. It will allow you to create a seal and keep the moisture around the bottom of the flower. When you finally get home and will be able to put the blooms in a vase, make sure to trim the branches beforehand. When flowers don’t have access to the water, the air may get inside the stems and create a blockage, so cut the half-inch to be sure.
This trick will give your flowers up to 8 hours before they start to wilt, but if you don’t add wet paper towels, this time will be much shorter. Now you know how to keep flowers fresh without water! However, you should bear in mind that the quicker you put them inside some vase, the better.
Read also: How to make cut flowers last longer?
