How To Keep Cut Irises Fresh

Freshly cut flowers around the home brighten up various rooms. Irises are an excellent choice for cut flowers. They are a beautiful and fragrant with a uniquely shaped blossom and a highly original look. With a few simple strategies, you'll be able to enjoy your freshly cut irises for days longer than you might think.

Step 1

Pick the irises as early in the morning as possible. This ensures that they will still be full of moisture, which helps maintain their freshness. Have a plastic bucket ready to keep the stems wet until they can be placed into a vase.

Step 2

Fill a vase with cold water to ready it for your freshly cut irises. A vase with a large opening works well because you can make a cut to the stems while still in the water without ever having to expose them to dry conditions. Choose a vase that is slightly taller than half the height of the flowers.

Step 3

Add a flower preservative to the water before putting the irises in. These preservatives should include acidifiers, biocides and carbohydrates, since all three ingredient work well together. According to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, you can also use a home remedy to assist in preservation, such as an aspirin or a cent.

Step 4

Use cutting shears to cut the iris stems. Cut it at the exact spot where the stem starts to turn green. This is the ideal spot to cut soft stemmed flowers like irises to keep them fresh the longest. Cutting at a 45 degree angle gives your irises the advantage of having an even larger surface area to absorb water.

Step 5

Place the irises right in the cold water immediately after cutting them. The cold water mimics the irises growing conditions and keeps them fresh.