Lesson 5
As cut flowers
Cut at the cool end of the day, when 1/3 of flowers on the spray are open. Strip lower leaves. Condition in deep cool water for 2 hours before arranging.
Vase life: 7–10 days with the recipe below. The fluffy pollen-y centres of singles do drop — keep a sheet of paper under the vase.
Annual China asters last longest (10–14 days) and were grown for centuries specifically for the cut-flower market — worth a packet of seed if you have a cutting bed.
What to add to vase water (per 1 litre)
- 1 teaspoon of sugar — feeds the flower in place of the stem it lost.
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice OR clear (white) vinegar — lowers the pH so water moves up the stem more easily.
- 2–3 drops of household bleach OR a clean copper coin — stops the bacteria that block the cut stem (the real reason vases go cloudy and flowers droop early).
- Change the water every 2 days and recut 1 cm off the stem each time. That single habit beats any other 'trick' for vase life.
- Florist sachets (Chrysal, Floralife) are this same recipe pre-mixed — convenient, not magic. Either is fine.
- Avoid: aspirin, copper pennies post-1992 (not real copper), and full-fat lemonade — the sugar load encourages slime.
Asters in arrangements
- Cut at the 1/3-open spray stage — fully open shed pollen fast.
- Strip leaves below the waterline; aster foliage rots quickly.
- Mix with grasses, sedum and rudbeckia for the classic late-summer jug.
- Single-flowered types make better arrangements than the doubles; the doubles are for bees.