Sometimes when you buy cut flowers, they do not come with a packet of flower food or maybe you like to cut flowers from your own garden to bring in the house. For either of these instances, your cut flowers will last much longer if they are given some flower food and you can easily make some yourself. Normal tap water typically has too high of a ph level for flowers to tolerate for very long.

DIY Flower Food

1. Citrus Fruits- squeezed from a lemon, orange or lime, are great for feeding flowers but should be used if the vase is coloured or tinted as the citrus could stain.

2. Lemonade- for a clear vase you can use a clear lemonade. Don’t use diet lemonade as the flowers need sugar or you could always stir in a teaspoon of sugar into diet lemonade before adding flowers.

3. Vinegar and Sugar- mixing two tablespoons of sugar with two tablespoons of vinegar in one litre of lukewarm water is another useful homemade flower food.

Flower water should be changed every two-three days to keep flowers at their freshest.