How to revive wilted flowers

A drooping bouquet is not always dead. In most cases the problem is circulation (air in the stem, contaminated water, dehydration) and that can be reversed. Let's go by diagnosis.

1. The bent neck (roses, gerberas)

It is the most common case and the most recoverable. There is an air bubble blocking the stem.

What to do: fill the sink with lukewarm water. Cut three centimeters (about an inch) of stem at an angle underwater. Lay the whole flower down, stem and head, submerged for half an hour. Take it out and put it in clean water. In most cases it perks up within a couple of hours.

2. The hot water bath

For flowers with woody or tough stems that don't respond to the above.

What to do: dip the bottom five centimeters (about 2 in) of the stem in very hot water (almost boiling) for thirty seconds, protecting the flower from the steam with a dish towel. Then straight into cold water. The heat dissolves the plug of air and sap. It is a florist's technique, it works, and thirty seconds means thirty seconds: any longer cooks the stem.

3. Hydrangeas: submerge them completely

This is the exception to "don't wet the flower." Hydrangeas also absorb water through their petals. If one is drooping, submerge the entire head in cold water for twenty minutes. The recovery is almost spectacular.

4. The water has gone bad

If the water is cloudy or smells bad, it no longer matters what you do with the stems: you have to start over. Wash the vase with dish soap, add clean water, trim all the stems and remove any submerged leaves.

5. Tulips that flop outward

Tulips keep growing after they are cut and open out to the sides. They are not sick. To straighten them: wrap the whole bouquet tightly in newspaper up to the flower necks and leave it like that in cold water for an hour. It comes out straight.

6. The refrigerator

If the bouquet has to hold out until an event, the bottom of the refrigerator (never the freezer, never next to fruit) overnight slows it down quite a bit. It is the same thing a flower shop's cooler does, home edition.

When to accept it's over

If the stem is soft and slimy, if the petals are translucent or brown, or if the flower has lost its texture to the touch, no technique will help. At that point the best thing is to dry whatever can be saved and keep that.