The day I stopped pre-treating roses with floral preservative

I used to swear by that little packet of floral preservative you get with wholesale roses. I mean, I'd mix it up exact, change the water every other day, the whole works. But last spring I got a big order from a bride who wanted 200 roses for her wedding in Austin, and I ran out of preservative halfway through. I just used plain tap water with a pinch of bleach for the rest, you know, as a Hail Mary. Well, those plain water roses lasted a full three days longer than the ones with preservative. The bride even called me after the wedding to say her bouquet looked amazing 5 days later. Has anyone else found that the preservative actually shortens vase life on certain flowers?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielr942mo ago

Oh man, has anyone else noticed this too? I had almost the exact same thing happen with some hydrangeas last summer. I used the floral preservative on half and plain water with a little sugar on the other half, and the preservative ones actually wilted faster and got all slimy in the stems. It's wild because you think the packet is supposed to be this magic fix, but I swear sometimes it does the opposite. I've actually stopped using it altogether now unless I'm in a pinch, and my flowers seem way happier with just clean water and a drop of bleach.

blakem132mo ago

Wait, hold up... you put a drop of bleach in your flower water? That's wild, I've never heard of that trick before. Doesn't it mess up the stems or something? I've just been using tap water and changing it every couple days, but maybe I'm missing out on some secret.

drewsullivan1mo ago

Oh wow, that's actually a really good point. It's funny how we just assume the fancy stuff works better. I've noticed that in so many parts of life honestly. Like how people think the expensive plant food is a must but really it's just overkill most of the time. Same with cleaning products, you see all these specialty sprays but really vinegar and water does the same job for way cheaper. Sometimes the simplest old school trick is just the one that works and nobody remembers it anymore.