So you have some really gorgeous hydrangeas in your garden. You’ve cut some to bring inside. You put them in nice fresh water and what????? Within a day they are wilted and looking more than half dead. Has this happened to you?

Let me show you how to make these beautiful flowers last much, much longer!

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  1. Cut your flowers when it’s fairly cool outside: morning or evening. Avoid the hot sun. Try, if at all possible, to put them in a bucket of water right away. At the very least, keep them out of direct sun.
  2. Bring them inside and cut each stem, diagonally,  to the desired length. Smash the end of the cut stem: I use a small hammer.
  3. Immediately put it in boiling water. Not just hot….but boiling hot. Yes, do this! Keep them there for at least 30 seconds.
  4. Trim off ALL leaves that will be below the water line.
  5. Put them in the vase/pitcher of clean cool water.

The boiling water helps to stop the sap from running (which will inhibit the absorption of water) in the stems. And smashing the end of the woody stem allows more water to be absorbed as they sit in the vase. Make sense?

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I cut this arrangement two days ago, following the above steps.

If your cut flowers are already drooping, try submerging the entire stem (flower head included) in a bucket of ice cold water and leave for several hours.This may well revive them for another day or two!

Another suggestion is to dip the cut stem in alum powder. You can find it in the spice aisle at the grocery store. I’ve never done this, but have heard it works beautifully!

Let us know if you have any other tips and, if you try these, how they work.

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