There are two types of people in this world that I am suspicious of. People who wearing black hoodies while breaking into cars and people who don't like flowers.
People who like the taste of Tonic Water are also on my watch list.
There aren't many rooms that don't look better with some sort of flower or at least plant in them. It adds life to a room. A living and breathing thing. Like a decorating pet.
One of my favourite flowers has always been the hydrangea because a) it's really great looking and b) just a few flowers fill up a LOT of space. Roses are great and all but you need about three billion of them to make a vase look full even if you add in filler.
Hydrangeas are just charming.
They're also evil, neurotic, easily offended and have an astonishing ability to play dead. They're the opossum of the flower world.
You know it. You've been there. You're in the grocery store or florist and you see the hydrangeas all big, and white and huge and bouncy like a rare albino afro. You know you shouldn't go for the afro. It's too much work. It'll be a mess within a day.
But you give in. You relent. You buy the big white afro flower.
And within one day it's a goner.
For years I avoided buying my favourite flower because of this but about a decade ago I learned a trick that will bring back even the most wilted of hydrangeas.
Boiling. Hot. Water.
Just recut the end of the hydrangea, stick it in a cup of boiling water, and let it sit in that cup overnight (or until the water cools). Within a few hours you'll notice it starting to perk up and within 5 hours it'll be back to its old bouncy self.
This method always works. 100% of the time this method works. Always. The only time it wouldn't work is if your hydrangea has already lived out its full life and isn't just playing dead, but actually is dead.
So when reader emailed me and told me she had the same luck with using Alum to revive her hydrangeas I had to try it out.
One sure fire remedy is good. Two is even better.
So when the spring flowers I bought started to keel over I whipped out the Alum and gave it a shot.
Just recut the hydrangea stem (preferably under water) and dip it in about ½" of alum. Then stick the flower straight back in the vase. No waiting, no screwing around, no nothin'.
Take a look at the difference. This is what my hydrangea looked 3 hours after using the Alum treatment.
Yes indeed, it was twice as wilted as it was before.
I've read that other people have really good luck using this Alum method too, but I tried it three times and it didn't work for me.
I'm sure it does work for some people some of the time, but the boiling hot water method works always. Always.
So I took my double wilted hydrangeas and did what I always do.
- Recut the stems.
- Put them in a glass filled with boiling (not just hot) water.
- Protected the blooms from the steam by wrapping them in a paper towel.
- Leave them alone for several hours.
And back they came, as perfect as they were before the wilting.
You can see a couple of areas on the leaves and stem where it got scorched by the steam but it's just cosmetic, the flower was protected and the flower did just fine.
I first wrote about this tip years ago, but with wedding season coming up I thought it was a good idea to mention it again. I've had more than a dozen emails over the years from brides, wedding planners and frantic family members thanking me for saving their wedding with this tip.
The hot water method will only save a wedding. Not a marriage. But you can decrease your chances of a bad marriage by asking 3 important questions before you get hitched.
- Do you drink Tonic Water?
- Do you like flowers?
- Do you own a black hoodie?
Barbie
.....I can understand this completely! As when I am tired and wilted....one soak in my "hot as I can stand it" tub and I am back and perky once again too! LOL
But seriously Karen, I have been a florist for over 40yrs and I did not know this sweet little trick! the only thing that concerns me is that scorching on the stem....once it is in a bqt or oasis doesn't that scorching prevent the flower from the absorption to the petals? ....like once a stem is bent it will no longer get the hydration up the stem...stops at the break. Just a question.
ShelleyBC
I always had this sort of problem with poppies before I learned that right after you pick them from the garden, you must flame the bottom of the stem to melt the oils/sap then place in water. The oils sizzle and turn black but they last so much longer this way!!
Danni
yes, yes, and yes!! Triple threat!~! AND I'm a florist, so who knew? You might find tonic and vodka in my emergency kit along with the band aids, double-stick dots, wire, duct tape and breathmints. You might. That is an excellent trick, and it also how you pre-treat dahlias. If you get them at the real flower market, they are already done, but if you're buying from a farm and need them to last for a wedding or what not, look it up. You do just the very bottom of the stems. And you don't need to 're-do' it later if you cut them up shorter. As you say, since it's wedding season and all, it's a great time to share tips.
Jan in Waterdown
Wonder if your trick will work on lilacs? I used to get suckered into cutting a bunch from the wild ones in the field across the street from my house and every time they'd wilt within hours. Every time. And I did the whole smashing the stems thing too. Unfortunately those old shrubs have been replaced by hundreds of houses . . .
Dan
1. Yes. But only diluted with tremendous amounts of gin and lime.
2. Yes. Only crazy people don't like flowers. And I'm not crazy. Though I suppose some crazy people do like flowers. See #3.
3. Yes. It says "Trust me - I'm a geologist". So maybe crazy. But the gin helps.
Sakura Sushi
1. Only with vodka and a twist of lime.
2. Love, love, love them. Especially peonies.
3. Nope, but I do have a lovely turquoise-colored one that I got on vacation. And I never wear it.
At least you've the decency to take a break from knocking us tea lovers for a change (I expected that to be item number 4). The hydrangea thing I totally learned from you, and it has been successful. Every. Damn. Time. Which is a magical thing, leading me to believe that you are indeed, magical.
Miriam Mc Nally
I don't like hydrangeas (prefer roses!) but thanks for the tip anyway, in case I ever need to save a wedding!
stefani
I have seen them revived by soaking the whole flower in water over night.
awesomesauciness
In Texas, where it's generally 147 degrees in the shade from May to October, I can't even begin to grow hydrangeas. Strange, considering how much the blooms seem to love hot water.
Allison
Former florist here, and I did not know this trick. We usually just smashed the stems like someone mentioned above. Now I'm ready to go buy some hydrangeas for my desk!!!
Heather
1. yes
2.yes
3. no
The tonic water does taste better with gin & lime added, though.
Monique
I saw the cutest miniature hydrangeas at Home Depot yesterday..you hve to see them to believe them..adorb.
In a tiny pots.
I used to like Diet Tonic 15 yrs ago..I have black hoodies..in fact one is living at my young grandsons' home..he went home with it one day and I never got it back..he has no idea a black hoodie can be cool in certain circles..especially thoe he has of mine..it has embossed flowers on it;)
I love that age they don't care.
I think I cultivate hydrangeas..they are invasive for me..but I do love them.
Great tips.
Darlene
Yep.... I am a tonic drinker....
J
Amazing! I love these flowers as well and always avoided buying them since they go kaput the following day. I'll definitely be using this method. Thanks Karen!
Cindy
I never would have believed it! But your pictures proved me wrong. I'm a convert :-)
gabrielle
Tonic water? Really?? 36 years ago I toodled in my 1972 VW van 3,500 miles away from the California beaches to get here, and every time I take a pull on a tall, icy gin & tonic it's like getting a smack in the face by 6 foot Pacific wave. You do not know what you are missing.
robert
Karen, I wear a hoodie every single time I go out anywhere, a very dark blue one, almost black or a slightly discolored black one to the chagrin of every one who knows me, I' m also known to drink the occasional gin and tonic, I love flowers and I wouldn't mind to live in a set a la Raf Simons first collection for Dior if all those flowers were immortal and super easy to dust but I would never break into a car. So, where do I stand in your suspicions?
Karen
a) you don't break into cars with your hoodie b) you're familiar with and admire Dior c) you don't drink tonic straight, you mix it with gin You're A-okay. ~ karen!
Kim
Thanks so much Karen, this is such great info!!! My grandmother had 3 huge, beautiful hydrangea bushes in her yard; one white, one pink and one blue (She was constantly checking the pH of the soil to keep the colors pure). However, she never used them as cut flowers b/c of the wilting issue. I absolutely love them but I've never purchased one b/c I worried it would wilt and die before I even got it home. This is going to be the year of the Hydrangea! I'm going to buy one of my favorite flowers for a daily reminder of my Nana!! Also, your pics are stunning!! I love the flowers on your counter :)
Grammy
Cool! I, too, love hydrangeas but had never heard of the boiling water thing. Actually, I don't recall ever buying them, so maybe that's why -- I don't recall having a wilt problem with the flowers grown at home. In fact, many times I've just allowed hydrangeas in a vase to sit there until all the water in the vase has evaporated, and they begin drying during that process and continue looking good while they dry further. They lose color and don't look alive, but they are sturdy and beautiful in a dried arrangement, or just by themselves in a vase. But now I want to but some just to try this, and I can justify it because I took out all the hydrangeas in the yard several years ago.
My question is, does the boiling water work for other flowers? If so, which ones?
Karen
I didn't know this but another commenter mentioned using the tip with roses. ~ k!
Marna
Wonderful post! I have been afraid of cutting mine because they do seem to wilt right away. I love hydrangeas because my grandmother grew them, they make me think of her and her beautiful garden. Love your floral arrangement, gorgeous! :)