How to keep cut Lilacs fresher, longer

Lilacs are one of Spring’s best flowers – but they wilt so fast! Here’s how I keep my cut Lilacs fresher, longer…

The scent of Lilacs is one of the best smells in Spring. A small bouquet will fill your entire house with it’s heavenly scent. Best of all, if you have access to Lilac bushes, these beauties are free for the taking!

In the past, I’d become frustrated because the blooms seemed to fade within 24 hours. It seemed a waste to bring them in, only to have them wilt. But then, I started using this simple trick and now I’ll get 3-4 days out of my Lilac arrangements.

It’s so easy. I always have a jar or vase filled with water right beside the bush I’m harvesting blooms from – you don’t want to leave the cut stems exposed to air any longer than necessary.

Keep cut Lilacs fresher, longer with this easy method

Cut long stems from the bush, using sharp scissors.
Using the same scissors, immediately make two vertical cuts up the stem from the bottom, about 1 inch long.
Plunge stems right into the water, arranging as you go.

I’m thankful to have both a purple and a white bush in our yard. This year, our white bush had loads more blooms than our purple, so these lovelies are currently sitting in our living room. We can smell them all the way from upstairs and they make me smile.

For a dizzying array of the best smelling Lilacs, see this post from Better Homes and Gardens.

A couple things to note:

You’ll want to display these somewhere out of direct sun. If they’re in direct sun, they’ll wilt fast – no matter how you cut them.
Make sure the water level doesn’t drop below your stems – for obvious reasons. 😉
Vases or jars with smaller mouths will give you a nice full-looking bouquet. Even though the blooms themselves are large, the stems are small so using a small mouthed vessel will give you a lovely, lush arrangement.