Let’s talk Dirty….flowers that is.

The Dirty Truth About Summer Flowers

Some of the most beautiful summer blooms are also the messiest ones. They cloud your water, breed bacteria fast, and cut their own lives short before you are ready to say goodbye.

Here are the worst offenders (in no particular order).

Zinnias are the absolute worst. They foul up water faster than any other summer flower. When someone tells me their flowers lasted only a couple of days, you can be sure there was a zinnia in there. I have a love hate relationship with these beauties, they really are easy to grow but make me want to pull my hair out.

Sunflowers release a thick, milky sap from their stems that turns water murky and toxic to surrounding blooms almost immediately. These may get the ax next year.

Amaranth with its dramatic draping stems looks stunning, but breaks down quickly, releasing debris and bacteria into the water.

Dahlias, as gorgeous as they are, have hollow stems that deteriorate fast and dirty the water in record time. I will never quit these, they’re my favs, so I forgive them.

So what can you do about this besides cry?

• Snip the ends at an angle every couple of days to keep water moving up the stem

• Change the water daily. That dark, awful smelling water (gag) is bacteria doing its worst. Do not let it sit.

• Keep the water cool and your flowers away from direct sunlight. Heat is their enemy.

• Remove any leaves sitting below the waterline. They rot fast and make everything worse.

  A Final Thought

Flowers are fleeting, just like life itself. They will not last forever and that is exactly the point. Put them somewhere beautiful, tend to them gently, and enjoy every single day you have with them.