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Keep those Mother’s Day flowers fresh

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(A bonus column for our readers).

Mother’s Day is Sunday. Many sweeties are holding garage sales, recycling their aluminum cans and refinancing their homes so they can afford to buy flowers for their moms or wives. Prices for floral arrangements can easily jump 30 percent on holidays like this and Valentine’s Day.

So, here’s how to get your money’s worth out of your bouquet:

If you pick up your roses in person, squeeze the part of the rose where the petals meet the top of the stem.Firmness means freshness. Soft and squishy indicates near death.

If you need to save $20, buy shorter-stemmed roses. Mixed bouquets can save you $30 depending on the flowers you choose. The most economical option is, of course, a late night venture into your neighbor’s yard.

Growers are breeding flowers for a long vase life instead of for fragrance. You can’t have both.

Cut an inch off the bottom of the stems at a 45-degree angle using a sharp knife or scalpel. Scissors can crush the stems. Make the cuts in water to prevent air from entering the stems and aging the flowers. If you need help, rent a surgeon.

Cut off any leaves below the water line. They breed bacteria. You don’t need bacteria.

Change the vase water every other day and wash the vase with dish soap to prevent bacteria. Better yet, sterilize the vase by adding one-quater teaspoon of bleach per 1 quart of water. This will also keep flowers from wilting too fast and minimize cloudy, moldy and stinky water.

To keep them blooming longer, add to the vase water a teaspoon of sugar with either bleach, white vinegar, an aspirin, baking soda, fresh lemon juice or 2 to 3 drops of vodka. Great cocktail for flowers; not for people.

Use the preservative the florist gives you. Ask for extra packets.

Some tipsters suggest dropping in a copper penny because it acts as a natural antibacterial agent. Pennies minted after 1982 only contain 2 percent copper. If you have a pre-1982 penny, which has 95 percent copper, it would be better off in your coin collection.

A Poway resident, Schmidt has 40 years of gardening experience.

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