How to Keep Cut Lilacs From Wilting

With a few clever tricks, you can learn how to keep cut lilacs from wilting so you can enjoy a sweet-smelling flower arrangement in your home for longer.

Lilac season is here in our little corner of the world, and needless to say, it’s the best. We have a huge old-fashioned common lilac growing next to the house, as well as more compact ornamental dwarf shrubs, and I think my favorite part of the lilac season is how the air smells so sweet at this time of year. The lilacs seem to scent our whole property and it just makes everything a little better in the springtime as the weather gets warmer. Of course, I love to cut a few lilac branches and bring them inside too, but my lilac bouquet never seems to last as long as I’d like it to once they’re cut. You really only have a day or so before the beautiful fresh-cut lavender-colored blooms start to wilt, and that just won’t do. Luckily, there are a few tricks that can be employed to extend their life and prolong their fragrant, cut-flower beauty. I decided to test them out and was pretty impressed with the results! So here’s how to keep cut lilacs from wilting.

See also: The Vodka Vase Trick to Prevent Drooping Tulips

How Long Do Lilacs Bloom?

Lilacs are deciduous, flowering bushes that thrive in hardiness zones 3-7 and require a period of cold weather to trigger the blooming process. All types of lilacs are considered to be quite easy-to-grow plants, and some varieties are even tolerant down to the climate of hardiness zone 2. Pruning is not necessary for beautiful blooms, but cutting the shrubs back in the spring after their bloom time will help them keep their shape and develop strong, healthy branches.

Depending on your growing region, your lilacs will bloom at some point, from the early-spring weeks for warmer climates to late May or early June for cooler areas. Unfortunately, lilac flowers only last for about two weeks at most, less if you get a hot, dry spell during their bloom time.

How to Keep Lilacs Alive in a Vase

These first few flower best practices really apply to all flower varieties that wilt or start to break down easily when they’re cut to prolong their life.

When it comes to cut flowers, typically the longer the stem, the longer the flower will live. Especially with lilacs, when you cut them very short, they don’t survive more than a few hours before they start to wilt and become insightly. Always cut your flowers on a 45 degree angle to allow the stems to absorb more water and remove any lower leaves that will be below the surface of the water when you put the stems into your vase.

The Magic Ingredient for Keeping Lilacs from Wilting

I heard about this little trick using alum (the same stuff you keep in your spice cupboard), and I didn’t really understand how it would work, so I did a little research. Some flowers, like lilacs are very quick to heal after they’ve been cut. They’ll secrete something that will cover the cut area of the branch, which will protect the plant, but also prevent the cut stems from sucking up any water. Adding the alum into the mix allows the stems to continue to drink the water and stay healthy and fluffy for much longer.

Here’s what you do: Immediately after cutting your stems at a 45-degree angle, stick the cut part of the stem into a little dish of alum. If you can’t get much alum to stick, just dip the stem quickly in the water in your vase before applying the alum to it.

Then, place your stems in a vase of fresh, cool water like you normally would. Try to change the water each day and re-apply the alum before you drop the stems back into the vase. Bonus points if you can re-cut just a little bit off the bottoms of each stem before you do this.

More fresh flower inspiration for spring: The Trick for Removing Ants From Cut Peonies

Does it Work?

I was so impressed by this. The lilac blossoms that I cut from my hedge and just put straight into the water only lasted about a day (or maybe two) before they started wilting. After two days, the flower arrangements completely done and needed to be thrown out. The ones that I’ve been giving the alum treatment have lasted twice as long! I mean, I really wish they would last two weeks the way some flowers can, but I’ll take every extra day of lilac loveliness and fragrance that I can get.

Do you use alum on clippings from your lilac bush to make them last longer?

More ideas for beautiful blooms: What to do When You See Yellow Leaves on Roses