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May 25, 2019 ·

Maximum Vase Life – How to Get the Most Bloom for Your Buck

Blooming Betties· Field Notes (Growing tips for the constant gardener)

Blooming Betties works really hard to chose the most beautiful cultivars with naturally long vase lives but there are many things you can do to care for your cut flowers to extend their beauty in your home. Here are ten things to try:

  1. Keep your flowers in water. This seems simple enough but some flowers drink more water than others and that results in the water level in the vase reduced.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve wondered what in the world was going on with a stem or two crashing to find that the water level had lowered and they were no longer in the water.
  2. Use a clean vessel to display your flowers.  Flower life is dramatically reduced by bacteria in the water. Be sure that the vase you use to display flowers is clean enough to drink out of.  
  3. Keep the water clean. If you don’t want to drink the water, your flowers don’t either. By changing the water every 2-3 days you’ll keep that bacterial out.
  4. Feed your flowers. Your Blooming Betties come with flower food in the vase, but using that little packet of flower food when you change the water does make a dramatic difference. Flower food is usually composed of a bacteria fighting substance as well as sugar to keep those buds developing and can extend the vase life by up to 60%.
  5. Keep your flowers cool. By keeping them in a cooler location, like an air conditioned room
  6. Keep your flowers away from ripening fruit. It releases a gas, ethylene, that actually makes flowers fade faster.  Crazy!
  7. Deadhead your arrangements. Flower farmer try to pick flowers before they actually bloom to maximize vase time. Many types of flowers have buds that will just keep on opening as others on the same stem fade.  Cut or break off blossoms as they fade and let the next do it’s thing.
  8. Chose flowers with a naturally long vase life. Flowers all have different life spans. Some naturally last longer than others so understanding which flowers last longer will get you the best bang for your buck.  Some greenery will actually start to root in the vase, while as much as we love lilacs and roses, their vase life just isn’t the best.
  9. Communicate with your florist to find your favorites. At Blooming Betties, many of the flowers we grow are chosen for a particular reason.  They are either stunners like dahlias, fragrant like sweet peas, or long lasting like zinnias. By communicating what you love most, they can help you find flowers that will knock your socks off time after time.
  10. Shop for locally grown, seasonal flowers. Blooming Betties are cut fresh on our farm, conditioned, and designed within 24 hours of reaching you. Over 85% of the flowers sold in the US are imported which drives up price because of shipping and means your flowers are sometimes a week or older by the time they reach the consumer.

Our intention is that you get a solid 5-7 days (hopefully LONGER) out of your blooms and hope you find these tips helpful! Enjoy your flowers!

Previous Post: « Planning for 2019

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“Ferris Wheel” wins as the first daff bloom! I “Ferris Wheel” wins as the first daff bloom! It totally surprised me because I didn’t think this was an early variety - the best part? It smells like chocolate! Seriously! 
 
I just love daffodils. They’ve been really brightening up my nightly walks with Lucy with their glow. 

Scott helped me out and planted over a thousand new narcissus last fall when I was out with Covid.  Let’s hear it for the hubs!

#bloomingbetties #flowerfarm #farmerflorist #floraldesign #locallygrown #coloradoflowers #lovelandcolorado #northerncolorado #seasonalflowers #aprilflowers #daffodils #narcissus #ferriswheel
The peony roots are starting to poke through and w The peony roots are starting to poke through and while I won’t be harvesting any blooms for the first few years I’m so excited.

Aren’t peonies beautiful - with their crazy colorings as they emerge? I learned about the magic of plant coloring last night in a lecture by Stanford’s Dr. Virginia Wolbot hosted by @santacruzdahlias The dark red/purple color of the new growth acts as a sunscreen while the plants are emerging - a natural hardening off process if you will. So. Cool.  It was a great lecture and left me so curious. 

In terms of peonies, I potted up a few varieties that I couldn’t get into the ground in the fall (we had Covid and got behind) that will be available for purchase at the starter sale in May if you are interested. 

I may have to go snag more pics of this in the snow today. Oh Colorado. You do you. 

#bloomingbetties #flowerfarm #farmerflorist #floraldesign #locallygrown #coloradoflowers #lovelandcolorado #northerncolorado #seasonalflowers #april #peonies
Did you know that tulips are harvested at “color Did you know that tulips are harvested at “color crack” stage? This gives you the longest vase for your tulips. This is day 1 for the tight buds in this picture and the picture of the solo tulip was picked on Saturday and is four days into it’s vase display.

Variety: Foxy Foxtrot

##bloomingbetties #flowerfarm #farmerflorist #floraldesign #locallygrown #coloradoflowers #lovelandcolorado #northerncolorado #seasonalflowers #aprilflowers #Tulips #foxyfoxtrot
The first tulip of the season has arrived. Foxy fo The first tulip of the season has arrived. Foxy foxtrot. I think she shows up a bit more yellow in pics  than she is in real life. She’s a bit on the small side but makes up for it in her sweet smell (I think it smells like honey) and vase life. She also changes a bit in color as she ages. 

#bloomingbetties #flowerfarm #springflowers #lovelandcolorado #locallygrown #smallbusiness #tulips #aprilflowers #foxyfoxtrot
So excited to have received some new (very beautif So excited to have received some new (very beautiful) dahlia tubers. Most notably, KA’s Rosie Jo and Valley Tawny. 🤤 #bloomingbetties #flowerfarm #lovelandcolorado
Can someone tell me why chickens are so fun to pho Can someone tell me why chickens are so fun to photograph? These jerks have been cooped up since motoring off some sweet peas but I decided they could be ungrounded with close supervision. (Most of the sweet peas are ok - just potentially mislabeled. 🤷‍♀️

This is our Chocolate Orpington “Big Brown” as dubbed by Wally.  Shortly after this was taken he went for the phlox and got a nice shower from the garden hose. 

#bloomingbetties #flowerfarm #chocolateorpington #backyardchickens #spring
The race is on to get as much done as I possibly c The race is on to get as much done as I possibly can before the flower “season” starts next week (ish) and tulips start finding their way to their destiny. 

Today I took cuttings of geraniums, basil, and dahlias. I love cuttings to be honest but feeling like I should have done this a month ago. Shown here is Mrs. Henry Cox and she’s a heck of a plant. Geraniums, especially scented are some of my favorite greens. 

#bloomingbetties #flowerfarm #lovelandcolorado #locallygrownflowers #geranium #mrshenrycox

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