Kim, add 1/2 tsp bleach per gallon of solution.

Cut your flowers and immediately put them into water.SOme kids will get airblocks and s hould be recut under water...Roses are one of them that do better this way. Some respond better to very warm water. dahlias and roses like warm water and then to allowed to cool all the way down in a dark cool place. Either strip off all leaves below water line now or when you are making your bouquets but if the flowers will be sitting in water ovenight before arranging I recommend stripping them first. Let flower cool in the water in the coolest place you have above freezing. IT could be outside in the shade, in a cool basement, in an old fridge or in an air-conditioned room. Let them drink deeply so their stems are full of water and the petals are as hydrated as they can be.

Make up bouquets, snip ends even, and place back into containers of flower food (Or fresh ones for crystal clear water) until sale time. Keep flowers cool and out of the sun. A few flowers like dahlias don't want to be stored in cold fridges.

Let me get this straight, I add the bleach to the vinegar, sugar, water mix? Or bleach and water first? And the homemade preservative will be sufficient or do I need to buy something different to use? I so appreciate your advice, I have recommended books coming from the library so in the meantime, I can try out you great folks' recipes, ty!

Unfortunately, the homemade solutions haven't proven to be any better than plain tap water. If your are selling from a stand in front of your home, plain water is just fine. If you intend to sell to a florist, you will need to purchase professional solution. They expect that you hydrate your flowers professionally and use the proper holding solutions. For farmers markets, we always use a professional hydrating solution as well as a processing solution. These can be purchased at the wholesale floral supply. You will need a business tax license to purchase from these folks. If you are selling flowers, you will need the license anyway because flowers are taxable in the state of Michigan. Just a reminder: Our sales tax helps support our schools. At this point in time, they need all the help they can get. Sorry. I did a little segway on the tax issue.