I love tulips! I haven’t always, but over the years I’ve learned to love them, even though they tend to droop over not long after being cut. At least they did until last week!
Don’t Forget To Prick Them With A Pin
One of my neighbours dropped off a thank you bouquet of tulips to me last week. His words (yes, ‘his’ words) were “don’t forget to pick them with a pin so they don’t droop.” I thought he was joking and their was some hidden meaning I wasn’t catching on to. So, looking at him blankly, I uttered “Huh?”
My neighbour went on to explain that pricking a tulip stem, just beneath the head of the tulip, will cause them to stay standing upright, rather than drooping, in the vase.
I admit I was skeptical and quite certain he was “pulling my leg” when he said this, but he wasn’t. I followed his advice and the tulips in the photo on this page are the proof. Taken a day or two after I was given the flowers, the tulips are still standing upright!! And they stayed that way until the petals began to fall off and I laid them to rest in our compost bin.
How To Keep Cut Tulips (and other flowers) Fresh Longer
In doing a bit of research on this topic I learned a few new (and as yet untested) tips. I’ve added the new ones to a few I already knew below:
- Adding a copper coin (or two) to the bottom of the vase of water (new)
- Cut flowers last longer in a cooler, rather than warm room (knew)
- Give the flowers a fresh cut (an inch or so) at the bottom of their stems every couple of days and freshen the water in their vase (knew)
- Add a bit of sugar and vinegar to the flower water to cut down on growth of bacteria (vinegar) and to boost energy (sugar) to the flowers (new)
Hope pricking your tulips with a pin just below the bloom works as well for you as it has for me.