With a little extra attention you can enjoy beautiful fresh roses for a long time. Follow these simple tips to insure a longer vase life for your roses.

~ Check the water supply daily. Keep container filler to the top with water (even if there is floral foam in the container).

~ Keep your fresh rose arrangement in a cool area and out of direct sunlight and drafts.
~ If a rose wilts prematurely, remove it from the arrangement. Re-cut stem under water and submerge the whole rose in warm water until it revives (about two hours).

Cut Flower Care and Handling
By the consumer

To achieve maximum enjoyment from their flowers the consumer should be ready to do their bit too, with proper care and processing of flowers in the home. The consumer should start with a clean vase, re-cut each stem, remove any foliage that may settle below the water level in the vase and use a mix of warm water and a commercial cut flower food.

Other flower care steps to ensure the longest lasting flowers:

· Flowers, especially roses and lilies, will drink large amounts of water as they continue to open, customers must re-fill vases on a daily basis.
· Re-cut stems with a sharp knife. After a flower is cut, certain enzymes close off the wound/opening that has been made. Therefore, re-cutting the stem before the flowers are placed in water is necessary for the solution to be absorbed up into the flower.
· Remove foliage below water level. Natural secretions produced be the flower through the leaves may obstruct the vessels in the stem. Also, as the foliage decays, it rapidly spreads the growth of bacteria throughout the water and into the flower.
· Keep your flowers out of heat and away from direct sunlight. These process accelerates the growth of the bacteria or fungi in the water. High temperatures may also result in premature wilting of flowers and leaves.
· Keep flowers away from fruits and cigarette smoke. Fruit and cigarette smoke produce high amounts of ethylene gas, which speeds up the natural aging process in flowers.
· Removing older, decaying flowers from arrangements will also limit the bacteria growth and as distressed flowers also produce ethylene gas, the life span of the remaining flowers will be extended.