New York resident Robert Hamley owns Forever Flowers, a floral preservative kit that allows customers to save flowers from weddings, anniversaries, and graduations, and other special events. Robert Hamley even had the opportunity to feature his innovative products on home shopping networks like QVC and HSN.

While Mr. Hamley’s preservative kit helps keep flowers fresh, consumers can also preserve flowers in water for a longer time by following a few simple steps. Most flower preservative solutions include ingredients like sugar (sucrose), an acidifier, and an antibacterial agent.

The ingredients for each flower preservative brand might be different, but most contain the aforementioned ingredients. Sugar, in the form of sucrose, is used because it plays a vital role in photosynthesis. When flowers are separated from the plant their main nutrient source removed. Sugar acts as a replacement preservative nutrient for the plant, which allows flowers to look fresher, longer.

A base is also added to preservatives because the sap of flowers is generally more acidic, while the pH of water is more alkaline. Therefore, many floral preservative kits include an acidifier to retain acidity.

Finally, the added sugar makes the water look murky after a while because of rapid bacterial growth. An antibacterial agent is included in the kit to combat this overgrowth.