Make flowers last ‘two weeks longer’ with woman’s simple hack

The home is always more inviting with a bouquet of flowers, but keeping them alive is often a challenge.

Typically, if you’re watering them in a sunny spot, they’ll retain their freshness for up to seven days. Any longer than this, it seems, would need divine intervention.

However, plant expert Nicole Jacques (@itsnicolejaques) may just have provided the answer, boasting that her simple trick can prolong the life of your flowers for ‘up to two weeks’. Astoundingly, it involves nothing expensive, extravagant or outlandish either – simply a pair of scissors.

Sharing her advice on Instagram, she explained: “If you cut your store-bought flowers underwater versus air, they’ll last up to two weeks longer. But why? Well, when you cut a flower stem in the open air, the exposed cut can draw air up instead of water. And the air can form a blockage within the stem’s xylem, thus they wilt because they can’t siphon water properly.”

In order to corroborate her claims, Nicole drew attention to a bunch of tulips. Those cut outside of water had seemingly begun to droop, while those snipped in fluid continued to display an impressive vibrancy.

She added: “Cutting underwater reduces the risk of air pockets and allows the flowers to absorb water right away.” Nicole’s ingenious trick has been previously scrutinised by scientists.

The University of Florida snipped various different flowers underwater and within air to see whether this very traditional remedy had any merit. Its results claimed that cutting underwater had no impact on the longevity of alstroemeria, chrysanthemums, gerbera daisy, roses, or snapdragons.

But in a few instances, the water hack did improve longevity just slightly. This was especially the case for carnations which reportedly lasted for two to four days longer.

Despite this, it’s clear that various flower buffs are eager to experiment with it themselves. Commenting on Nicole’s video, one person wrote: “My mother-in-law taught me this. It really works,” as another added: “Didn’t know this. Thanks for sharing.”

One also flagged: “This has been up to much debate in the floral world. Some say yes , some say no . But did you know that tulips can grow up to an inch a day even after being cut and placed in water?”

And a fourth chimed in: “If you just use a sharp knife instead of scissors you have more luck. The scissors squeezes the end of the fibres together and prevent the flower to absorb water.”