Tips for lasting market bouquets

April and May are peak season for farmers market flowers

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Here’s how to get your market bouquets to last for days once you get home:

• As soon as you are able, get your flowers indoors or into the shade. Cut flowers are under a lot of stress.

• Re-cut all flower stems at a 45 degree angle. This increases the ability for the flowers to take up water. .

• Put flowers in fresh, cold water and clean vessels. Cut off all foliage that is below the water line.

Some plants and flowers need a little extra help to have a lasting vase life:

• Woody stems, i.e., anything that looks like it came off a tree or shrub: slice up the middle of the bottom 2-3 inches of the stem. I use a sharp knife that comes to a point (like a box cutter). Examples: Flowering branches, Camellia, Forsythia, Boxwood, Hydrangea, Lilac, Quince, Pussy Willow, Rose, Spirea, Viburnum.

• Some cut flowers have a hard time remembering to take up water once they are severed from their stems. You’ll see them wilt or droop shortly after you get them home. To revive them, put 1-2” of the stem in boiling hot water for 7-10 seconds. Then put the flowers in the dark for a couple hours. You’ll see them perk up like magic! Examples: Basil, Iceland Poppy, Clematis, Nicotiana (Flowering Tobacco), Hellebore (Lenten Rose), Mint, Orlaya.