What’s in those flower food packets? #shorts #science #SciShow

Emma Dauster: Writer
Luke Rosener: Fact Checker
Attabey Rodríguez Benítez: Script Editor
Savannah Geary: Editor, Associate Producer
Bonnie Meyer: Managing Editor
Sarah Suta: Producer
Caitlin Hofmeister: Executive Producer
Hank Green: Executive Producer, Host

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[Bs]

*Side Tip:* When trimming the flower stems at an angle, do so under running water. This will help keep the stems pathways open, otherwise trimming them dry will potentially close the pathways you are trying to open.
*Source:*
My Sister who worked as a florist for several years.

[SamNeedsCoffee]

For everyone who is confused by what a quart is, it's equal to 8 gills or 1559.25 cubic barleycorns.

[NikkiBdraws]

Had to laugh when he mentioned the bleach because I was sitting there like "oh wow, that sounds edible".

[wormisjunkd]

ooh also there’s some really interesting reactions between flowers in vases that I’m not qualified to explain! certain combinations of flowers can greatly extend or shorten the lifespan of the overall bouquet. for example, cut daffodils excrete a sap that’s toxic to many other cut flowers and can quickly rot a vase, but irises love daffodil sap and can last something like an extra week with them present :)

[shelby]

Also to extend the life, cut 1cm off the bottom of stem every 3/4 days when you do a watcher change. Make sure to use a transparent vase and "swirl" the water and plants everyday so as to not be stagnating. On a hot day (especially with roses) put ice in the water.

[mattakudesu]

My gf uses 7up mixed with water as flower food. It let the bouquet I gave her last 3 and a half weeks before wilting. Alson within the first week after adding the 7up, the flowers bloomed much better than they did in the store.

[Solace]

I used to work for someone who grew flowers to supply to florists, and this is 100% good information. We used to mix up the stuff ourselves to keep them all fresh on the way to the florist. Another tip, don't put daffodils in the same vase as other flowers, as a rule of thumb. It'll kill most things, but has the opposite effect on a few types, such as irises. It keeps those longer.

[sycco]

me as a german the first what i hear "so flowers are Blumen" xD
yeah i know that good sir xD

[MrDavidwilson]

I once did a science fair on this, tried all sorts of things…. Sprite soda worked the best.

[wyvern]

Worked at a florist. My favorites that lasted the longest were orchids (had some that lasted 3 weeks in a vase), spider mums (almost as long), and daisies. Roses are decent, usually a week, especially if you get them in the hard bud stage. If they are soft bud, they are old and won't last more than a couple of days.
If you get flowers from the grocery store, they typically aren't going to last long because they are left at room temperature.

[lechiii]

"THE CLOCK HAS BEGUN TO TICK ON YOUR BOUQUET!!!” I don't know why I loved this line. 😂😂😂

[elvismartinez]

My mother adds sugar water to flowers and they always last a long time. I am glad her techniques are validated by this video!

[janetross]

It’s a professional florist, our shop does not hand out those little packets for the flowers. We leave as many leaves as possible on the stems that will be above the water and I believe that the leaves through photosynthesis provide “sugar” for the flowers which feeds them. We also advise customers to change the water every day which keeps down the bacterial growth. When we get the flowers in from the wholesaler, The water that the flowers are placed in after the stems have been cut correctly, is given a scoop of the same thing that is in those little packets so they are pre-treated.

[melissahislop]

Can confirm as a florist. 😊 Bleach and sugar work! I’ll put a couple drops into a vase of water before adding my flowers especially when I am bringing them in directly from my garden.

[jacquelineisawesome]

It’s super important to not use scissors. You use a blade because scissors pinch their ‘life straw’ and diminishes their ability to suck up the rejuvenated liquid and water. It’s important to cut any leaves that are in the water because they rot the flowers and water. I change the water daily. Also, only distilled water. I keep flowers for two and three weeks.

[kennymaria]

So the way I can keep my flowers from dying is to give them cult lemonade

[PLuMUK]

To make roses last longer, cut a short section off the end of the stem, put the cut end, about a finger's width, into boiling water for a few seconds, then straight into the vase of water and food. The roses will last at least twice as long. This can be repeated when the flowers begin to look "tired" to male them last even longer.

It you want to keep tulips upright, push a pin through the stem about a finger width from the top, then remove the pin, cut a short section off the bottom of the stem and put the tulips in the vase. They should remain upright instead of flopping over.

[lThatLadl]

There's also a small amount of silver to keep the flowers lasting longer. It affects flower senescence at the level of ethylene sensing

[crestm]

I worked in a flower shop and when we would get our flower bunches in we would always put a splash of bleach in the water for the large buckets we used for the flowers. It kept the flower fresher longer.

[ditto]

Fun fact, the acid is often acetylsalicylic acid also known as Aspirin. Sometimes aspirin is already sold as a powder to mix in a beverage for faster action like BC powder or Goodey's