Who does not love decorating a home with flowers? All kinds of blooms find a place in the vase, yet a few hours after they are bought they often begin to droop. Here are some ways to keep flowers in a vase fresh for longer.

• If you like to fill a vase with roses, make sure the whole stem is never submerged under water. Do not cut rose stems too short; that way they stay fresh for a long time.
• Spray water over the flowers in the vase from time to time. They will look fresher and will not spoil easily.
• You can mix a small amount of salt into the water you put in the vase. It helps the flowers last.
• Trim off the leaves attached to the flowers before putting them in the vase. Flowers keep better without leaves.
• Not in the habit of changing the vase water? That alone can make flowers dry out. Change the water every two days.
• When choosing flowers, pick buds rather than large, fully open blooms; they last longer. Keeping the vase somewhere with light and air circulation also keeps flowers in good condition.

Source: Dhaka Times. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.