Make Cut Sunflowers Last Longer

One of the great joys of summer is growing old fashioned sunflowers and I have some tips on how to make cut sunflowers last loonger. They are a delight to see in your garden and even better when cut for a bouquet in the house.

According to my Botanical Interests seed packet, there are a few things you can do to prolong your blooms and hopefully this will answer how long will sunflowers keep.

Tips to make cut sunflowers last longer:

 1. Cut the flowers early in the morning after the dew has dried or in the early evening hours.

2. When cutting sunflowers for bouquets, choose buds that have just started started to unfold, or flowers that have just fully opened.

3.Cut the flowers with a sharp set of clippers and make the cut at an angle so there is more surface to absorb the water.

4. Immediately put the stems into a bucket of water. Bring one along with you when you are cutting. Once inside put them in a vase half full of lukewarm water and make sure no leaves are in the water. You can add one teaspoon of sugar or 1/2 cup of lemon lime soda to help make the flowers last longer. You can also add a small dash of vodka or a teaspoon of bleach to the water but whatever you do, change the water every two days.

5. Keep the vase out of direct sunlight and away from fruit where the gases can cause the flowers to fade quicker.

Grab a packet of sunflower seeds for planting and enjoy them when they are growing and cutting sunflowers for a vase. You can see where I grow my sunflowers here.

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