How to Make the Most of Your Florals

Cut the stems

Cut about 1” from the bottom of each stem at a 45-degree angle every few days. This will help more water get to the blooms.

Remove bottom leaves, but keep the thorns

Remove any droopy leaves that have fallen under the water line in the vase. This keeps the water cleaner, stops bacteria from growing, and maintains the freshness of your flowers.

Add Sugar to the Water

Sometimes flowers need a sweet pick-me-up too. Add about a tablespoon of sugar and a splash of apple cider vinegar per every two cups of water. The sugar feeds the flowers, while the vinegar helps to keep bacteria at bay.

Change the Water Regularly

At this point, you’ve probably noticed that keeping the water fresh is important. Change out the water every day or two, or when it starts to get cloudy. Cloudy water is a sign that bacteria– instead of your flowers– are flourishing. And remember to replace the sugar and vinegar when you change the water!

Repurpose Glass Containers

Wash and reuse your Imperfect Foods containers, mixing and matching shapes and sizes for visual appeal. Classically speaking, the length of the stems should be no more than 1.5 to 2x the height of the vase.

Kombucha bottles, jam jars, empty bottles of olive or avocado oil would all look beautiful and add different pops of color.

To remove labels, soak the containers in warm soapy water, until the labels start to disintegrate, then scrub to remove any remaining paper and adhesive. Tip! Especially sticky labels can usually be coaxed loose if you melt the adhesive with a blow dryer.

Location, Location, Location!

Keep your flowers in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Find a special spot to display them against a high-contrast background that’s not too busy where the colors of the bouquet can pop.

Drying

Secure stems with string or rubber bands and hang upside-down. And that’s pretty much it! In three to four weeks they should be completely dry. In the meantime, your home will smell great and look like a page in a bohemian home magazine.

You can keep them in tip-top shape by spraying them with unscented hairspray. Display your dried flowers in a spot that doesn’t get direct sunlight

Potpourri

Tie eucalyptus leaves to your shower head for a beautiful and functional aromatherapy bouquet.

Toss flowers with your favorite essential oils, place onto a baking sheet, and dry in a 200-degree oven for about two hours or until all of the moisture is removed and the flowers are brittle.

Breakup the petals and stems and display in a pretty bowl somewhere you wouldn’t mind smelling like flower petals are gently floating in the air

Fragrant Oils and Essences

Surprise! Infused liquids are actually pretty easy to make. Wash the petals and steep in alcohol or oil for a few days. Voila!

Soap

If you’re new to soap making, we recommend buying a premixed soap base like these. After picking out your soap base, you’ll also need some flexible soap molds. Beyond that, it’s easy. Adding flower petals to your soap mix adds a light, uplifting floral scent, and looks lovely if you’re using a clear soap base. When making your soap, simply sprinkle your flower petals into the bottom of the mold and pour your soap mixture on top. Let harden.

Flower Dyes

Boil flowers in 3x as much water and let simmer for an hour or until the desired color of dye is obtained, strain and store!

And that’s the power of flowers folks. If you still have leftover flowers after all that, just remember to compost.

We hope this article helps you make the most out of your Saved Stems– our line of sustainable and one-of-a-kind floral arrangements at Imperfect. The floral industry has super strict regulations about things like “stem-length” and “thorniness.” And since nature has a mind of its own, a flower farmer might get an unexpected rain and suddenly be flushed with more flowers than they can sell. That’s where Saved Stems come in. It’s a safe space for surplus sprays and stems that didn’t quite make the cut elsewhere.