Almost everyone loves lilacs – some common trigger of childhood nostalgia and spring’s ephemeral enchantment – but not everyone knows how to cut them for a bouquet. Lilacs are one of the trickier ones too, ever-ready to droop and fall in mere hours, but they can last if you follow a few helpful tips.
First, go out and pick your lilacs first thing in the morning, ideally before the sun has started to beat down and take away some of the plant’s moisture. If you can’t manage that, wait until the evening, when it’s had some time to replenish its fluids.
Second is how to strip the stems – I usually make two vertical cuts in a cross, about two inches into the branch’s bottom. That’s usually messy enough to strip some of the bark off in the process but if it doesn’t, peel some back manually. That should allow for maximum intake of water through the bottom of the branches. Finally, remove most of the leaves, as they will take away from the water pull to the flowers (they also tend to wilt no matter how fussy you get about the stems).
Usually this is enough to get you a decent vase life – sometimes you have to give it a second go, so repeat the process if they start wilting in a couple of days. Otherwise, simply inhale and enjoy.
