How to Make Flower Food at Home

You just purchased a bouquet of flowers because, dang it, a bouquet of flowers makes life a little bit better! And you deserve to treat yourself to flowers!! Or…perhaps they were a gift (Happy Birthday! Happy Anniversary! Congratulations!!) No matter how these flowers arrived, you'll want to get them in water and ensure they'll last as long as possible. If you didn’t receive that little packet of flower food, don’t despair! You can make your own flower food at home with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.

Bouquet of dahlias, zinnias, asters, and scabiosa seed heads.

Homemade Flower Food Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon bleach

• 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice

• 1 quart lukewarm water

Instructions

I could be super wordy here, but really the instructions are…Mix ingredients until sugar is mostly dissolved.

Please be careful as you're mixing bleach, do so cautiously (so as not to bleach your surroundings and clothing). Mix away from children, pets, and be sure you are in a well-ventilated area. It’s just bleach, but still!

Change water daily for the longest vase life (if you don’t feel like making more flower food, no worries! Changing water daily is still your best bet for longer vase life). You can also extend the life of your cut flowers by removing them from the vase, and making a new cut at the base of the stem.

Please Note:
Be sure to use the proper measurements and do not mix more than one batch of flower food at a time.