How to Use Flower Food

I love filling my home with fresh flowers. I always have to browse the floral section at my local grocery store to see if there is a bouquet that must come home with me.

When unraveling the bouquet to put in your vase, it’s easy to overlook one of the most important things in the package: fresh flower food. Fresh flower food is a beautiful little resource, as it helps extend the life of your flowers. Who doesn’t like getting more bang for your buck?

There are three main ingredients in a floral food packet. 

1. A carbohydrate, which is a sugar, that helps buds to bloom and open up. 
2. A citric acid, which acidifies the water. Bacteria can’t grow as quickly or as easily in acidified water. 
3. A biocide, which also helps check for and limit bacteria growth. 

One of the most important things you can do to extend the life of your flowers is to follow the instructions on the back of the flower food packet. If you’re like me, I use whatever vase I have laying around the house to place the flowers in, pour in the flower food, and mix in water. The packets have specific instructions on the back for how much water to mix the contents with. Be sure you have a vase that holds the suggested amount of water! 

You can also purchase flower food at your local gardening store for bouquets that don’t have packets.

Extension Publication 3313 “Sweet Mississippi Flower Bowl,” offers step by step instructions on how to arrange a bouquet of flowers in a vase! Once you learn how to arrange a bouquet by these instructions, you’ll never go back to another way! 

If you love dabbling in floral arrangements, try making pressed floral arrangements. This is a great way to remember special floral designs, like wedding bouquets. Extension Publication 3513 “Creating a Pressed Floral Design,” goes through step-by-step instructions on how to successfully press flowers. 

Interested in taking your love for flowers to the next level? The Master Floral Designer and various floral enthusiast courses are great resources taught by Dr. Jim DelPrince! Browse the classes available and register now!