How come the tips of the petals on my flowers are going brown?

Brian'sbbgirl

The tips of my flower petals are going brown. They're in water and in a cool place. However, they are not in the fridge because I heard that if you place the flowers next to fruit and vegetables they die due to the release of ethylene. How can I stop this from occuring next time?

bridesmomflorida

What kinds of flowers? And how long have you had them? Some flower tips naturally get brown. Like roses, and you just have to take those off. If we know what flowers you have that are turning and how long you have had them before they started to turn would really help.

ontytigger

The tips of your flowers will turn brown from a couple things. the natural oils in your body is one, everytime you touch them or put your nose onthem to smell them , this can cause browning. Also, freshness, if they are not really fresh an are not kept in the proper setting browning can occur.  Fruits & veggies DO give off ethyline gas but in small amounts from the fridge, if your flowers aren't going to be in there for more than 48 hours I would  try the fridge for your best bet

Brian'sbbgirl

They were roses. The store owner goes to the flower market on Thursday and the wedding was for Saturday. So I have the flowers for 2 and 1/2 days. Thanks guys for responding so quickly and thoroughly.

bridesmomflorida

The first layer of rose petals usually gets taken off right away. By some called packing petals. These few petals will always look crinkly or have brown tips. And should be taken off to allow the rose to open nicely. The rest of the petals should not brown in 2 days. A fresh rose should open and hold nicely for at least 5 days out of the cooler.

Catwoman708

Prep the roses and get them in water as soon as you get them:

Have a bucket or container ready with a few inches of water, and floral preservative.  Trim the stems at an angle, about 1/2 an inch. 

Remove all the foliage/leaves below the water level.

If you want the roses to open up sooner, peel the outer petals off.  If you don't want them to open up, leave them.  (If the roses come tightly packaged, leave them in the packaging, but still trim the ends and get them into water -if you don't want them opened up as soon).

Keep them cool, out of drafts, out of sunlight.  If you can't avoid a draft, loosely/lightly cover them with lightweight plastic, like a dry cleaners bag.  Avoid handling or touching them as much as possible. 

Brian'sbbgirl

Thanks guys, you all rock! : )
 
Next time I will do everything that you have all suggested.

nefariousmango

Great Ikebana Tip:  Remove all the extra leaves you can, put the plant's survival energy into keeping the flower nice!  Then, submerge the stem and cut it under water, small bits at a time.  When you make a cut and bubbles don't pour out the end of the stem, you've reached the part of the stem that is still fully hyrdated and you can stick it in a vast or what-not.  Like a sponge, if there is already moisture in it the water can wick up to where it's needed with no re-hydrating delays.  In cut fowers, these "delays" sometimes mean the whole stem is dried out before the water's moved enough to matter, and you can honestly extend the life of a rose by nearly a week by cutting it this way.