Someone has taken the time to buy you a beautiful bouquet of flowers, but the minute you get them home, they die on you. How can you make these lovely flowers last longer? Flowers can be difficult to keep alive, especially after their stems have been cut, so what can you do to at least get some joy out of their sight for a few weeks at least?

Ice water

One popular belief is that if you take flowers and put them in ice water, they will last longer than if you put them in luke-warm water. Don't make it too cold, though, you could damage the stem. Mix the ice with some warm water to achieve the correct temperature.

Refrigeration

Many times, florists will keep flowers in a refrigerator because the cool air helps them to last longer. You can do the same during periods of time when nobody is home, or nobody is there to look at the flowers.

Sunlight

The flowers, of course, need sunlight, so make sure you put them in a window that will give them a lot of sunlight. Many types of flowers need direct sunlight and this is hard to find inside the house, so usually the more sun you can give them, the better. If they are in a corner, with no sunlight, then they will die very quickly. Alternately, you can move them outside to a sunny spot during the day, and then move them back inside again after a few hours.

Plant food

You can buy plant food now that will act as soil for flowers, and it provides more than enough nutrients to keep flowers alive for weeks on end. Products like Miracle Grow are plentiful and not too expensive. If you want flowers to be around for awhile, then this is a plus. Some flower arrangements will come with small packets of flower food attached. Read the directions and add this to water when you transfer them into a vase.

Sugar

If you don't want to buy plant food, then you can take a teaspoon of sugar and put it in the flower's water. Florists will often do this to keep flowers alive longer.

Trim the ends

As soon as you get home, trim the ends of the flowers by a quarter to half an inch while they are underwater. Immediately after this, put them in a vase of cool water to which you have added sugar. Often, this will keep flowers alive even longer.

If someone is going to take the time to find you flowers to say Thank You or I Love You, then you should take the time to make sure the flowers live as long as possible. Follow the above suggestions, and see what works for you. Through trial and error you will find the right solution for the flowers that you have.