More cut flowers are purchased on Valentine’s Day than on any other day of the year, in spite of the fact that the holiday falls in the dead of winter. When buying a bouquet, it can be hard to determine how best to care for cut flowers and make them last.
Cindy Haynes, a horticulturalist from Iowa State University, has some tips for selecting cut flowers.
“We like roses that are fairly tight in bud that are showing good color,” Haynes says. “Red roses and some of the darker colored roses don’t show that damage quite as much as something like a white rose.”
Care should be taken when selecting dyed flowers.
“The addition of the dye, particularly for the roses, might shorten the life expectancy a little bit,” Haynes says.
On this Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with Haynes and Iowa State University horticulturalist Richard Jauron about getting the most out of cut flowers any day of the year, judging a bouquet, and extending a flower's life expectancy. They also answer listener questions.
