My mother has a distinct dislike of cut flowers, in large part due to the inevitable death that awaits these victims of the shears. I can certainly empathize with this point of view, but death comes for us all, be it today, tomorrow, or years from now. I should like to enjoy the loveliness flowers bring to a space, however ephemeral, and be thankful for their existence.

A highly knowledgeable person I know recently shared the wisdom of bouquet care, learned from their highly knowledgeable mother. I shall herein attempt to convey a summation of this practice of tending cut flowers. Any errors are a reflection of my own misremembering.

My example this week is a handful of bright yellow sunflowers, curtesy of a nearby farmer’s market. The precut stems were too long for the designated vase, so I had to cut them again.

Tip # 1: cut the stems underwater, in an ice bath, to sooth the wound of the cut and to provide water instead of air when the wounds immediately “breathe.”

If the flowers come with floral food packets, make sure to read the instructions to determine how much to add to the vase water, as too much may prematurely kill the bouquet, while too little may lack any of the benefits offered by the composition. These powder packets typically incorporate sugar to encourage blooming, as well as citric acid and biocide, to discourage growth of harmful bacteria.

Tip # 2: if no such food packet accompanies the bouquet, add a little bit of clear lemon/lime/ginger-soda to the vase water. This provides both sugar and citric acid. According to the internet, about ¼ cup of soda is a good rule of thumb.

If you can’t tell from my image, I do believe I added more than ¼ cup, having not researched the correct amount until well after my sunflowers began to prematurely wilt. Additionally, I later found gnats having a party in the vase. So, word to the wise: less soda, more water changes, to avoid pests.

Tip # 3: along with water refreshing, bouquet maintenance requires a keen eye to remove dead leaves or buds, which will only hasten the wilt of its brethren.

And voila! We have the foundation care for maximum joy shared with these beautiful plants, as they gradually mosey towards the next stage of existence.