Last week I started an experiment.  I wanted to see which, of all of the internet's This-Will-Make-Your-Cut-Flowers-Last-Longer additives really worked, and which delivered the best results.  The contenders were the six most common preservative recommendations I could find: Aspirin, Apple Cider Vinegar, Bleach, a Penny, Vodka, and Soda.  I also tested grocery store flower food and used plain water as the control. 

The results? Somewhat surprising actually!  Below the countdown, from worst to best, along with the pics and particulars.  So with no further ado...

8.  Copper Penny & Sugar 

At least it looks ashamed of its failings

Observations: By Day 3, when I changed the water, the Penny Rose was feeling a little soft. It hadn't opened much more, but it already had a few rolling edges and darkening spots.  By Day 5, the Penny Rose had bit the dust. I attempted to leave it one or two more days (I was hoping they all could last at least a week) but on Day 6, when I went to move it, the entire head fell off.  If this truly WAS a competition, perhaps the Penny could enter as The Decapitator.

 Additional Thoughts: I have to say, I didn't have a lot of hope for this one from the beginning.  I have in the past tried adding a penny to arrangements and never noticed any difference.  But on the upside, of all of the roses that died, at least it has some coinage to pay the Ferry-Man to navigate the river Styx.  Always a silver lining.

The Copper Penny & Sugar Additives weren't enough to keep the rose looking good.

7. Apple Cider Vinegar & Sugar
Observations: The Vinegar Rose didn't look terrible by the end, but by Day 3 the bloom hadn't opened at all, and felt extremely soft.  By Day 5, it looked dark, spotty and withered and by Day 6 fell apart completely.  In addition, the vinegar made the water a bit yellowish (not reminiscent of anything good), and the distinct smell lingered in the room, even after several days.  

Additional Thoughts: I love me some vinegar. It does amazing things when used in cleaning and cooking.  But when someone tells you to "Stop and smell the roses", they don't usually follow it up with "Because, Sweet Moses, they smell like a salad."

Apple Cider Vinegar, though wonderful for a lot of things, is NOT something I'll be using again for my flowers.

6. Aspirin
Observations:  As I mentioned this last week, one of the things I didn't like was how cloudy the Aspirin made the water.  I had hoped that might clear up, and to some degree it did, but there was still a white silt on the bottom of the glass for the whole week.  As to the flower, it did open slightly, but the bloom felt soft by Day 3 and lost the majority of its petals by Day 5 and 6.

Additional Thoughts: This one surprised me.  I've heard a lot of people say to use Aspirin over the years, and I thought for sure it would be one of the final contestants.  To be honest, I actually debated whether or not it should be swapped with the Vinegar.  The petals - though opened slightly- looked wilted and rolled by Day 3 and 4, however the fact that it didn't smell or look like the water had been *ahem* used gave it a slight advantage.

Aspirin Rose

5. Grocery Store Flower Food 
Observations: The bloom on the Flower Food Rose didn't open much, but it did stay looking nice through Day 3 and Day 4.  By Day 5 it still looked okay, bu the petals were starting to roll and darken a bit and the head felt softer.  Day 6, the rose had started to droop and lose petals.  

Additional Thoughts: The flower food dissolved well in the water and though maybe not completely clear it wouldn't be noticeable for the most part.  In addition, the color of this rose stayed very vibrant.  I don't know if there was just something different about the rose itself, or if it was in fact the flower food, but I thought it was worth mentioning.  By Day 6 the rose HAD started to smell a bit like a - well- decaying rose.  But hey, I start to smell after two days really, so I figured 6 days was pretty darn good.  

The Flower Food Rose

 3./4.  Bleach & Sugar 
Observations: The Bleach Rose had opened nicely by Day 3.  Day 5 showed some wilting on the outer petals (which could be removed in ordinary circumstances), but it still held its shape well.  The bloom was soft though, and by Day 6, one or two petals were starting to make their escape.  

Additional Thoughts: At the start, I had thought that this one might go the distance, and it did hold up pretty nicely.  The bleach smell dissipated almost immediately (or, potentially, was just overwhelmed by the vinegar smell).  I almost gave this one a hard third place, but considering it lost some of its petals by Day 6, I felt it was only fair to call it a tie with... 

The bleach in the water keeps away bacteria, while the sugar acts as food to the Rose. Apparently carbs aren't an issue for it.

3. Water  
Observations: Days 3 AND 5 had the rose looking more open.  It remained firm through Day 5, and though on Days 6 and 7 it had started to soften a bit and take on that decaying rose smell, it did not lose any petals.  

Additional Thoughs: BWAAAAH?!  This one really blew my mind.  I actually never intended to even give it a rank as it was the control, but darn it it looked so pretty I felt it deserved it.  

Water Rose

 2.  Sprite Rose 
 Observations:  The Sprite Rose opened at a slower place than the Water Rose, but that also meant that it stayed looking nice longer. Day 3, 4 and 5 the rose stayed firm and only by Day 6 did the bloom start feeling soft.  Day 7, I still think it would have looked decent in an arrangement. 

Additional Thoughts: This was another surprise to me.  I mean I like Sprite, but who'd-a-thunk flowers do too?  

Sprite Rose

 

Day 7 and it looks beautiful!

The Vodka Rose stayed firm and vibrant through the end of the experiment. Would were we all.

 Final Thoughts and Caveats: 
To be a fair experiment, the test really should be done multiple times OR with multiple roses in each glass. I may redo the procedure at some point to see what the outcome is.  
This experiment also didn't include various breeds of roses or even colors, which could, potentially alter the conclusions.  

Ultimately? If you have something that you swear is working for you... Why change?  

On the other hand, if you're out there looking for a good reason to make a mixed drink - just blame it on the roses. (Although I will say, this really only works if you actually HAVE flowers in the house. It's a tougher sell otherwise.)

Stay Rosy, friends!

 

I have a wreath on my front door. It's a grapevine wreath that I filled with hydrangea, berries, leaves and a bow made from my wedding ribbon.  It's a lovely little wreath.

This spring it got a little bit lovelier.  A Finch decided to make her nest in the center of it and laid 5 beautiful little eggs.  If I'm completely honest, I wasn't completely thrilled about it... my anxiety sky rocketed.  There was this beautiful little family with their home on a dangling circle of sticks, affixed to my storm door by nothing more than a wreath-hanger.  And that door has to open every day for the mail.  Foresight and strategy are perhaps not the finches best assets.  (I have a feeling the term "bird brain" was created for a reason.)

But nevertheless, there they were - mama and eggs.  My husband and I stopped using the front door as much as we could, and I let the mailman know they were there so he could be careful.  Our peephole looked right into the nest itself so we checked it every day and saw the mama diligently keeping her eggs warm.

Then this past Friday, something really magical happened.  The papa showed up.  We'd never seen him before (or hadn't realized it, if we had).  But there was this little boy finch next to the mama, with his red head showing, looking down on the tiny little eggs.  (I suppose it could have just been her "man-friend" but I choose to believe it's the papa.)  And within an hour, the first little wormy looking baby had appeared!!

Mama Finch Keeping Her Babies Warm

If you've never seen a baby bird, they are not particularly adorable when they're born.  They are mostly just fuzz and skin with a little pointy beak stuck to one end, like an afterthought.  But in God's infinite wisdom, He made us attracted to things that are little and helpless and squishy (which is a good thing because babies require a heck of a lot of work!).

Soon after, the rest of the five had appeared.  We watched like spies through the tiny peephole as mama finch fed each and every one of them and then puffed out her feathers and settled in to keep them warm.  They had become our secondary pets.  And, as silly as it sounds, we loved them.

But yesterday, something terrible happened.  I don't know exactly how.  I had been out most of the day and came home in the late afternoon. When I glanced out the peephole to check on them, the whole scene was wrong.  The nest, usually front and center on the wreath, was rocked to the side.  One baby was hanging precariously on the leaves. The rest were out of sight.

I ran downstairs, out the back door, and around the townhouses with my heart pounding.  When I got there, I found the one barely clinging to the wreath, and two more that had fallen all the way to my front door mat.  The other two babies were just gone.

With tears streaming down my face, I scooped up the baby on the wreath before he fell and pulled the nest down.  I placed him in it, and then knelt to check on the other two.  Both were moving, but one didn't seem in good condition.  I placed them all back in the nest to keep each other warm.  (FYI, it is a fallacy that if you touch a baby bird, the mother won't return.  That said, please don't go out scooping up birds in nests.).   

My husband had just returned home, and being the good and gentle man that he is, joined me in trying to make sure we could secure them.  There was no guarantee that the mom and dad would return, but it was even less likely if we changed the location of the nest.  We brought out wire and reattached the nest to the wreath, as firmly as we could.  With the nest and wreath in the way, there was no chance of attaching the bottom of the wreath to the door with a nail or hook, but we wanted to make sure it didn't move again.  Our only solution was Gaffers Tape (if you're not familiar with it, it's wide, black, cotton tape that's very strong).  We set to work taping parts of the grapevine to the glass of the storm door, hoping that that would ensure less movement on the wreath.  And then we left the babies, praying that the mom and dad would return.

It was an excruciating wait.  My husband and I took turns glancing as surreptitiously as possible out

The Two Babies That Remain

of the front window and peephole.  The little fuzzy bodies weren't moving much.  I can't tell you how much I prayed over them (I don't care how ridiculous that makes me sound - I love animals).  Then, almost a full hour later, an amazing thing happened.  Out on our railing was the little red-headed papa finch.  He checked in on the nest and then flew back to the trees.  A few minutes later, the mama appeared. 

I don't know what birds think or feel.  But my heart still aches for this little tiny creature who lost her babies.  I was afraid she would come back to the nest and abandon them when she found what remained.  But instead, she rearranged them as best she could, gave them all the food she had, and then puffed herself up and stayed with them to keep them warm.  Two of them have responded beautifully.  I don't think the third one made it.

I don't know if the remaining two will survive - it's possible that, if they were attacked by an animal or bird, it might come back. It's possible, they'll fall when learning to fly or if someone dropping off fliers swings the door open carelessly.  It's possible that any number of things could go wrong between now and when they spread their wings to make their own lives.  But I'd like to think we've given them a second chance.


This morning, when I glanced out, I saw that the mama was off finding food.  I quietly opened our door to look through the glass of the storm door at the babies that remain.  I laughed out loud at the sight.  The babies were snug in their nest, safe.  And my beautiful wreath now has wires sticking out in odd directions, and huge sections of black gaff tape are glued to various parts of the window.  But glued with them is a little bit of hope for a tiny feathery family.  It's the most beautiful door I think I've ever seen. 

We love our Mamas!