When you buy, or better still receive a bouquet from someone, there is usually a small packet of fertiliser attached to it to ensure that the flowers in the vase stay fresh for longer. These fertilizers will usually extend the life of the bouquets by up to three times. However, if you make the bouquet yourself, for example from flowers grown in your garden, you can achieve a similar effect very easily and cheaply. Just mix a few aspirin tablets in the water in the vase.
For flowers and for your health
Of course, aspirin is neither a fertiliser nor a plant food, but its use has other benefits than simply extending the life of the beautiful bouquet on your table. If it’s just flowers you’re after, you’re better off buying fertiliser. Aspirin in a vase, however, will not only benefit the bouquet but also your health. Although this statement may seem a little strange at first, it is backed up by Dutch research.
The research focused primarily on hydrangeas, but the results can easily be applied to related flower species. In fact, potted plants as well as bouquets in a vase significantly increase the humidity in your home. If you suffer from dry eyes, headaches or dry skin, flowers fertilised with aspirin can easily solve your problems.
Aspirin kills some bacteria
Although aspirin is not generally considered an antibiotic, when taken orally, it is capable of killing some types of bacteria that cause infections and inflammation in the human body. It has a similar effect when dissolved in water.
- If you add aspirin to a vase of flowers, it will kill the bacteria involved in the wilting and browning of the flowers. It doesn’t mean the bouquet will stay fresh forever, but the wilting process will take significantly longer.
- If you add aspirin to the water you water houseplants with, it will kill some of the bacteria that attack the leaves and flowers. Of course, the effect is not 100%, some species of bacteria are immune to aspirin, but aspirin is cheap and non-toxic, so you don’t have to worry about using it even in a household with small children or pets.
It is still a drug
Although aspirin is relatively innocent, especially when compared to strong antibiotics and other medications, it is important to remember that it is a drug. Therefore, you should not leave it unattended if you have children. Aspirin should also be stored in a first aid kit, not with flower care products, even though you use it in flower care.