Cut Fresh Flowers to Last Longer

I love having fresh cut flowers in the house, they add so much color and life. What I have noticed is that I usually have to replace them because once they've been cut they never seem to last longer than a few days. I spent a bit of time expreimenting with different techniques for preserving fresh cut flowers so that they will last longer than just a few days. These are the best techniques that I was able to come up with.

The Proper way to cut flowers

Most people, myself included, think that cutting stems with regular scissors is okay. This is not the case, when you cut flower stems with scissors that aren't meant for cutting stems you can crush the stems and will block the flow of water to the flowers. Simply usng pruning sheers will work wonders for your flowers. Be sure to cut your stems underwater because you want to prevent air from going up the stem and blocking the flow of water to the flowers.

Mixing different things into the water that you place the bouquet in can help to preserve your flowers. I have to note that you should pick one of these methods and not mix all the suggestions together.

Putting a few drops of liquid bleach and a teaspoon of grandulated white sugar in a quart of water will work wonders. Mixing equal parts of lemon-lime soda and water is very good for your fresh cut flowers. If you don't have the soda on hand you can always use a teaspoon of white sugar, two tablespoons of white vinegar and a quart of water to preserve your flowers.
I like to use the lemon-lime method the most especially when you are going to be putting the flowers into a glass vase and will be on display immediatly. There is something beautiful about the bubbles in the water.