Why You Should Keep Fresh Flowers Away From Fruit Bowls
Part of what makes a bunch of fresh cut flowers so special is the knowledge that they won’t last forever, so you have to cherish them in the moment, or something. Because when you think about it, you are essentially putting a bunch of flower corpses (or amputees) in a vase and holding them until they look and / or smell like they are rotting.
There are many tricks that can help you squeeze as much life out of flowers as possible, and here’s another: put a vase of fresh flowers somewhere, not next to fresh fruit. This tip is courtesy of an article by Emma Lowe at mindbodygreen . Here’s what you need to know.
Keep fresh flowers away from fruits
In her article, Lowe spoke with Dr. Karen Chang, a University of Maryland professor whose work focuses on ethylene, a plant hormone. Plants such as fruits and flowers have higher levels of ethylene with age, Chang said – in fact, it helps the fruit ripen.
So, while ethylene is good for when you’re waiting for a peach to ripen, it’s not good for flowers because accelerating their aging process means wilting leaves and petals and a shorter path to death and decay. For this reason, if you want to get the most out of fresh cut flowers, it is best to store them somewhere rather than next to a plate of fruit on the table or a bunch of bananas on the counter.
Of all fruits, tomatoes, apples, bananas and pears secrete more ethylene than others, Chang said. From there, the gas dissipates into the surrounding air, although Chang says that by traveling, he does lose some of his activity.
This doesn’t mean you can’t keep fresh flowers in the kitchen, but you can find a place for them away from the fruit bowl.