Fresh flowers, here’s how to make them last longer

It’s true that in summer your eyes are filled with the greenery outside, with the color of the meadows and fruits, the yellow of the sunflowers and the pink/purple/blue of the hydrangeas.

However, there are those who do not want to give up having a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers at home, which if they enrich and perfume the house so much in the first two days, can however give a pinch of nostalgia in seeing them wither. And then we asked Albert Dell’Ortoan expert flower designer, how to make a bouquet in a vase last longer.

First question: what are the fresh flowers that resist the most at home?
«In the summer season there is the allium, the decorative garlic flower that can be found in different types. For the summer period, until the beginning of winter, I also recommend hydrangea, which lasts a long time. For the winter, on the other hand, amarillis and some varieties of protea are better, while anthurium is good all year round».

What should you never do when putting flowers in a vase?
«The shape of the vase is not so important for the duration of the flower, the fundamental thing is that there is the right proportion between the height of the vase and that of the flower: you must never let the leaves of the flower touch the water because otherwise the duration of the flower itself would be jeopardised. It is then necessary to change the water often and make a fresh diagonal cut of the stem».

Are there any “incompatible” flowers that cannot be together?
«Daffodils do not adapt to being with other flowers because they produce a substance that causes the other leaves and corollas placed in the same vase to deteriorate».

Is there a more “precious” flower?
«Difficult to answer: perhaps I could say lily of the valley».

An original composition idea that you wouldn’t think of?
«A vase made with artichoke flowers and carries lotus seeds».

(Collage by @Lorinbocol)