HARVEST CUT FLOWERS

Cut flower blooms should be ready to harvest over the coming weeks. l Pick morning or evening. To keep your cut flowers fresh for as long as possible, avoid picking in the heat of the day. Early mornings or evenings are the best times, when stems are full of water and less likely to wilt. l Keep cool. Have a bucket of water ready and plunge the cut stems straight into it. Ideally keep your flowers in a cool spot for a couple of hours or overnight. l Trim stems. Before arranging, trim stems by a couple of cm so they can take up water more easily. You can trim them shorter to fit your vase. l Refresh water. There’s no need to add anything to the water, but refreshing the water every two days can prolong the life of

Raid your cut flower patch at dawn or dusk when it’s cooler flowers by preventing bacteria from building up. l Keep cool. Place them out of direct sunlight – they’ll last much longer.