How to Cut Spring Flowers

After a long winter it is nice to bring spring flowers indoors to brighten up your home and add color. Lilacs, hyacinths and azaleas bloom each spring supplying several colors, shapes and sizes for variety. Tulips, crocus, daffodils and gladioli make fine-cut floral arrangements with strong stems for vase arrangements. Learn simple tips for keeping flowers looking good, and how to cut spring flowers.

1. Find a pair of garden gloves and pruning shears, so you are well prepared to cut flowers without causing injury.


2. Fill a jar or bucket with warm water to place flowers in immediately after they are cut. This causes less stress and prevents immediate wilting.


3. Plan on cutting flowers in the morning before it becomes too hot. The water content of flowers is the highest in early mornings. Flowers cut during the heat of the day tend to wilt immediately.


4. Choose the best blossoms to cut for a vase. Older blossoms look pretty, but much of their energy for blooming is already spent. To find flowers that will last the longest, watch for new flowers that are just beginning to open or have just opened. Refrain from cutting diseased or damaged flowers that will spoil the looks of your flowers.


5. Use pruners to cut long stems on gladioli, daffodils and tulips. Cut long stems on most bulb varieties, and leave a stem of about 1/2 inch on the plant. Taller stemmed flowers make nice floral arrangements when placed in the back of the vase, and shorter stemmed flowers such as crocus are put in the front.


6. Prepare a clean vase for newly cut flowers. Make a homemade preservative to keep flowers fresh using approximately one teaspoon of bleach and eight ounces of water (warm) and clear soda. Soda provides a bit of sugar and nutrients, and bleach helps prevent bacteria.


7. Cut the stems of each flower stalk again under warm running water at an angle, and remove lower leaves from stalks to prevent rot. Place flowers in the vase as desired. Keep the flower vase out of direct sunlight, and place it away from air conditioning and heater vents.