I have cut carnations in full bloom that I want to give to my girl friend but I can't give them to her till next weekend. I want them to survive till then, what should I do? I hear keeping them in the fridge helps. Mine is about 35 degrees. No sun light for them as well I hear also. Help. I'm a dead man if I have dead flowers. They last 3 weeks?

A few drops of bleach in the water will kill the slime that grows in the water and so keep it from clogging the xylem tubes in the stem which conduct the water to the leaves. Change the water every day, add fresh bleach, and trim the very tips of the stems (the tips that are in water).

Bleach? Are you serious? I though we were supposed to feed cut flowers sugar, like Sprite. I stand corrected!

Bleach can do the trick. Carnations are a pretty hardy flower and can last a long time without doing anything at all to them. But if they do get too wilty, your best bet really is to buy them just before you are going to give them to her. They are fairly inexpensive.