Nothing brightens a room or smells quite as nice as a bunch of fresh flowers so you want to keep them lasting as the long as possible. Keeping your flowers fed, happy and fresh will also help unopened buds bloom. Here are some suggestions for extending the life of your beautiful fresh flowers.

Always use clean, sharp utensils when cutting fresh flowers. Never use ordinary household scissors which will crush the water vessels and prevent proper water uptake. Cutting at an angle of about 45 degrees provides a greater surface area for the uptake of water.

Some people cut their flowers under water before transferring them to a vase. Cut the stems under water if you can but otherwise, just ensure you get them into water as soon as possible. Flowers that go limp will need to be recut.

Flowers love fresh, lukewarm water. Except bulb flowers, such as hyacinths and tulips, which need cold water. Make sure your vase is clean and replace the water regularly to prevent bacteria from blocking the flower's water vessels.

When you buy fresh flowers you need to be aware that they don't like drafts or direct sunlight but they do need air circulation so don't overcrowd the flowers in their vase. Strip away all the lower foliage that will be submerged in water and always discard wilted blooms. Wet leaves increase bacterial growth which will shorten flower life. 

Cut daffodils and hyacinths can release chemicals that will kill flowers sharing the same water. Display them separately or keep them in their own container for 12 hours before arranging them with other flowers.

Using a preservative definitely increases the longevity of cut flowers. Buy a commercial additive or try a sprinkle of sugar to feed your flowers and a dash of bleach to kill the germs.