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I have two dozen cut roses, one dozen in a crystal vase, and one dozen in a Lenox ceramic vase. We're in a dry (70°F) heated house in the middle of winter, and the roses in the ceramic vase are far happier (less wilting) than their crystal counterparts, despite their identical light exposure and watering.

Is this a property of the material of the vase? Should I only put these roses in ceramic from now on?

These were purchased as two-dozen, and were mixed prior to cutting: The roses are identical in every way I can imagine, except for their vase.

[EDIT]: Some pictures!

To wit, the diameters of the openings (and the water levels) are the same in both containers.

j6m8
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  • Is the ceramic vase larger, or have a wider mouth? The ability to diffuse more oxygen into the water would definitely help. Please add some photos if you can. – J. Musser Dec 26 '14 at 22:25
  • Good call, forgot to mention, @J.Musser! They're the same as far as I can tell, both in terms of diameter and in leaf-coverage of the water surface. – j6m8 Dec 26 '14 at 23:10
  • How long have they been in these vases? – J. Musser Dec 26 '14 at 23:17
  • Approximately 3 days. – j6m8 Dec 26 '14 at 23:20
  • Maybe there was an unseen residue in the glass one? – J. Musser Dec 26 '14 at 23:45
  • That's what I was suspecting too, but both were bleached and cleaned thoroughly beforehand. I suppose it's still possible..? – j6m8 Dec 26 '14 at 23:46
  • Did you add any flower/plant food to the water in either of the vases? – Bamboo Dec 27 '14 at 13:51
  • I'd guess algae growth on the stems/cut surface, but not with enough certainty to call it an answer. Light through crystal vase would promote it .vs. less light in ceramic vase. I suppose the other thing could be lead from the crystal (if it is leaded crystal), but I kinda doubt it. Bad for people, not so sure it's likely to have that drastic an effect on flowers, since it takes quite a while to leach out even small amounts (most of it stays tied up in the crystal, but there's a suggestion that lead crystal decanters not be used for long-term storage of beverages.) – Ecnerwal Dec 27 '14 at 18:26
  • Is your crystal vase older? Are there any small cracks or crevices where micro-organisms can settle and multiply? – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Dec 28 '14 at 19:26
  • Is the inside of the ceramic vase glazed? I'd guess yes. If so then it is essentially glass too. – nportelli Dec 29 '14 at 15:49

1 Answers1

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It's probably not the particular vase, but the amount of moisture the roots can get from more of the stems being submerged in water.I noticed the glass vase had very ample water and the ceramic has to hold more to be able to hold the roses upright as it is showing. I can also give you some tips on how to preserve your fresh cut roses longer. use 1 Tsp of sugar or any type artificial sweetener in the water and they will stay fresh three times longer also. Water also need to protrude up on the plant stalks as far as possible to absorb a lot of moisture so the blooms will get the needed irrigation to keep them fresh and healthy. And I'm sure this is the reason the ceramic does better than glass, only the water level.

We have tree nurseries and we propagate roses and shrubs. They do best with a good amount of moisture.

Niall C.
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plantluvr
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  • Very interesting — I'll be sure to try this out next time! – j6m8 Dec 29 '14 at 02:57
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    @j6m8 - you didn't say whether you put flower food in with the roses, but for future reference, don't use any of those in your crystal vase - it reacts with the crystal and will not only shorten the life of your cut flowers, but also make the crystal glass cloudy. – Bamboo Dec 29 '14 at 10:27
  • They don't, Look at the roses and the vases. The glass one has a wider opening and make the roses fall over. Also, fresh water every couple days and a packet of sweet and low preserves them excellent. We grow them and honestly, look at your vases, not roses. Tammy – plantluvr Feb 07 '16 at 18:50