ray613•3d ago

Picked up a tip from an old-timer in Denver about keeping roses hydrated longer

Last week at the Denver wholesale market, a guy who's been in the biz since the 80s told me to cut rose stems under warm water and dip them in rubbing alcohol for 5 seconds before putting them in the bucket, and now my bouquets are lasting three extra days without drooping, has anyone else tried that or do you have a better trick for keeping them perky?

3 comments

3 Comments

webb.hannah2d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, did he say straight rubbing alcohol or diluted with water? I've tried vodka before but it seemed to burn the stems a bit. Warm water I get, but the alcohol part makes me wonder if it's killing bacteria or shocking the tissue.

abbyf792d ago

Dilute it for sure, straight alcohol would just toast the stems. I'm with you on the bacteria killing part, that's the whole point.

david_palmer2d ago

My buddy once tried cleaning his flowers with straight isopropyl and they turned brown in like an hour. Looked like someone had left them in a hot car. He said the same thing you're saying - it just torched the stems. But the weird part was the water turned kind of cloudy after like two days, so maybe the bacteria was still growing under all that dead tissue. Always figured if you're gonna use alcohol just go real light on it.