Over many years and with lots of experience, flower arrangers have learnt how to treat cut flowers so that they last as long as possible in a vase in your home.
Top Joburg flower arranger Georgie Currie offers these tips on conditioning and treating stems before you put them in the vase:
l Woody stems (tree branches, branches of blossoms, most larger shrubs).
Use a sharp knife, scrape stem for 5cm from end. Crush ends with stone or hammer. Place ends in 10cm boiling water poured into a jug or tin and allow to stand for 20 minutes or longer (allowing water to cool), transfer to bucket filled with cold water and leave 2-3 hours or overnight.
l Hard stems (hydrangeas, roses, many perennials).
Scrape stems for 5cm from end. Slit stem for a short way with knife and place in 5cm boiling water for 10 minutes. Transfer to bucket full of cold water for 2-3 hours or overnight.
l Hollow stems (delphiniums, lupins).
Place stem ends in boiling water for three minutes. Remove from water, hold stems upside down and carefully fill with water from jug. Plug ends with cotton wool and place in bucket of cold water for two hours with stem ends down. The cotton wool acts as a wick.
l Soft stems (lilium, annuals, bulbs such as ranunculi and anemones, daisies and pelargoniums).
Stand in 5cm of boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Recut under cold water and leave for 2-3 hours in bucket filled with cold water.
l Milky stems (poinsettia, hollyhocks, stocks).
Scrape stems for 5cm from end. Place in boiling water for 20 minutes or scorch stem ends with a candle or match flame. Transfer to deep cold water for 2-3 hours. - Saturday Star