what woman does not love to receive a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers? The hard thing is keeping them fresh and gorgeous as long as possible. Here are some tips to keep your bouquet of flowers looking fresh.

1. Trim the Stems

After you have unwrapped your bouquet, cut the stems at a 45-degree angle. It is recommend using shears if you have them to ensure a cleaner cut. Trim the stems every couple days.

2. Prune

Remove any leaves below the water line. It will not only make your bouquet look better, but also prevent bacterial growth. Some flowers, like roses, have guard petals which are the two or three outermost petals of the flower. Removing these will allow your flower to open up fully. After your initial pruning, you should check your flowers daily for dead or loose leaves and petals in order to avoid bacterial rot.

3. Water Wisely

It’s not only important to get your bouquet hydrated, but to do so wisely. Your flowers won’t last long without water, especially once their stems have been cut. After picking out a clean vase, fill it with room temperature water.

4. Clean Water Daily

One of the best tips for getting the most enjoyment out of your flowers is to change the water daily with fresh, cold water. The water should look good enough to drink! Or you can add fresh water daily, or every other day. Change out the water on Day 5 or if it becomes cloudy or murky. Remove older petals as needed to keep it looking beautiful!

5. Use the Flower Food

Drop in the supplied flower food into your vase and follow the instructions on the packet (this helps your flowers last longer). If you need to make your own or run out, you can replicate at home by adding a couple of drops of bleach and a pinch of sugar to fresh water.

6. Avoid Direct Sunlight, Heat, Drafts and Fruit

Your flowers will last longer in a room with cool temperatures. Avoid displaying them in direct sunlight or near appliances that generate heat. You’ll also want to avoid areas like open windows, heating or cooling vents and ceiling fans as they can cause the flowers to quickly dehydrate. You also shouldn’t display your bouquet near fruit. That’s right, ripening fruits release tiny amounts of ethylene gas which can reduce the longevity of your fresh arrangement.

7. Remove Stems as Needed

Every stem has a different expected vase life. As blooms expire, pull them out from the bouquet to keep the other blooms fresher, longer. Enjoy your bouquet's subtle changes each day as it ages gracefully!

8.Keep them In Fridge

Put your bouquet in the fridge every night before bed (typically 8 hours per night.) Flowers are said to thrive in cooler temperatures. It is thought that the low temps help slow the aging. Looks like floral bouquets like to stay nice and cool. The bouquet that went in the fridge overnight came in first place and is the best way to make flowers last longer. The bouquet will still be looking healthy even on day 10.