FIRST AID FOR FLOWERS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21206, 31 August 1940, Page 17 (Supplement)

FIRST AID FOR FLOWERS

THEIR FACS AND FANCIES Since flowers so willingly bring beauty and fragrance into our lives, surely it is up to us to humour them a little. Some flowers are not “good mixers,” and will droop unhappily if put in vases with neighbours of different varieties. Others are more quarrelsome, and will actually cause their unwanted companions to droop and die, unless separated. Here are the names of some flowers which like to “keep to themselves.” Mignonette is very antagonistic, and will quarrel with any other flower. It should always be given its own vase. Roses keep far better if all are of the same variety. Wallflowers and Stocks prefer to be kept apart from other flowers. Lilies of the Valley are much happier by themselves. Sweet Peas like to be alone. They either affect the other flowers, or fade themselves, if given strange companions. All flowers die only too soon. Here are some ways by which their lives may be prolonged, and their freshness kept.

Be sure that the water in the vase is clean. To keep it pure add a small piece of charcoal, or just one crystal of permanganate. Never put flowers into icy cold water, they hate it. Room to Breathe Change the water daily. Each time you do this, chop off a piece of stem, but slice it diagonally downward — not straight across. Do not put too many flowers into one vase. Give them room to breathe. Flowers from shrubs with woody stems fade quickly. To prevent this, remove bark from base of stem, and split up. Chrysanthemums and Asters should be stripped of their lower leaves. Flowers with sapless, wiry stems, are better arranged with a few leaves under the water. Most flowers enjoy a cocktail when they get that “fading feeling.” If you give them one at the right moment their vitality will be restored very quickly, and they will smile their thanks. The best pick-me-up is an “aspirin cocktail”; this acts as a stimulant, and gives them a new lease of life. Drooping tulips will quickly stand up like beacons after you pop an aspirin tablet in the water. The summer, when flowers are most plentiful, is the time when many flowers are sent by post. Before doing so, it is best to close their stems with sealing wax. If the flowers are wrapped between damp blotting paper they should arrive quite fresh at their destination. —G.O.J.