Floral Help Please

[KukriKhan]

Hi guys. Today is Mrs. Kukri's birthday. I got some cut flowers, and a vase, and some nutri-mix stuff to put in the water.

Do I need to re-cut the stems? Angle-cut like a veggie, or blunt? Warm water or cold? Tap or Bottled?

She gets home in 2 hours.

Any help appreciated.

[Kekvit Irae]

Re-cutting the stems is a good idea, but directly putting them in water, be it tap or bottled, is not a good way for them to survive long. Fill the vase with a mixture of topsoil and plant food, jam the stems into it, and flood it with water. It will be preserved a bit longer than usual.
At least, that's from my own experiences.

[KukriKhan]

Thanks, Kekvit Irae Did as you recommended. The water part still had some suspended topsoil, so I camouflaged it with some wrapper & netting left over from christmas packaging.

Not horrible looking, even if ham-handed old guy says so. :) Let's hope they last 'til new years.

[Beirut]

You should cut the stems at a 45 degree angle and put them in warm water.

That's what the flower shop says.

[KukriKhan]

Thanks, my Brother . I did the 45-degree thingee, and used room-temp water (trying to not scare 'em to death with cold or hot).

So far, so good. Wifey saw them as she walked in the door, and said "Beautimous!" . Now she's getting herb-stuffed center-cut pork chops, rice pilaf & asparagus for dinner, perpared by moi, and a pair of earrings she's been eyeballing for a couple of months.

I'm not golden yet - maybe bronze. :) Especially after the christmas fiasco ("But we weren't getting presents for each other"///"You should know me by now").

Thanks again guys, for the quick help. I can bring our garden veggies to full fruition, and keep a healthy lawn. Flowers, I kill, apparently. Can't grow 'em successfully in the dirt, and can't keep 'em alive once cut - hence she handles that area, and hence I needed help.