Why does aspirin make fresh cut flowers and bouquets last such a long time?
Asprin makes the fluid pathways from the lower portions of the stem dialate and allow fluids to pass upwards to the leaves and flowers. It also increases the acidity slightly. Less bacteria. Add a penny. Copper is a natural fungicide. *Place cut flowers in cold water, not warm! Warm water dehydrates flowers. * Placing cut flowers in the refrigerator for six hours before arranging them will triple their lifespan. * Hot water–up to 110-200 F–is recommended to restore very wilted flowers (the hotter water is for the more wilted flowers). * Except for when you are cooling flowers, when you want cold water to cover the stems of the flowers, there is no need to have the water go higher on the stems than six inches. * Recut the stems every few days. * Remove all leaves and foliage below the water line. A lesson to Mr/Mrs ‘Go know thyself is trying to behave…’ Aspirin and acetaminophen are two different things. Aspirin is derived from willow bark, a botanical derivative; acetaminophen is parac
“Meet Martha McBurney, the master gardener in charge of the demonstration vegetable garden at the University of Rhode Island. In the summer of 2005 she tested aspirin water on tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, basil and other plants after reading about it in a gardening publication called the Avant Gardener (PO Box 489, New York, NY 10028). The results were well, astonishing… “What caught my eye in the original Avant Gardener article was it said that aspirin is an activator of Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR). And that plants, when under stress, naturally produce salicylic acid, but not fast enough and in sufficient quantities to really help them out in time. So the bugs get them, and diseases get them, and they show even more stress. “But if you give them aspirin, it helps boost their immune system, kind of like feeding people echinacea so they don’t get a cold.” “Cut flowers that last forever? Well, not quite. But current research may explain a modern-old wives’ tale of adding an aspir
