Microwaving a Bouquet? How To Preserve Your Valentine’s Day Flowers in Lubbock

Ah, Lubbock. The city of love, as some say. Well, I'm sure there's been at least, like, one person who has said that in the past. But let me say this, if you've ever received flowers on Valentine's Day, a birthday, or an anniversary and thought, "I sure would like to enjoy these longer than a week," then I've got the perfect solution.

Why not preserve them? Lubbock has many flower shops that make it as easy as possible to save some of your favorite arrangements for any occasion.

Where to Buy Flowers in Lubbock

Before I get to the preservation methods, here are just some of the locations in Lubbock, TX, that sell flowers of all kind for any time of the year:

• All Flowered Up Too - 5064 50th St Suite B, Lubbock
• Devault Floral - 3703 19th St, Lubbock
• House of Flowers - Kingsgate Center, 4210 82nd St #224, Lubbock
• Marble & Company - 3519 34th St, Lubbock
• The Flower Bucket - 2245 34th St, Lubbock
• The Fig & Flower, Co. - 1717 Broadway St, Lubbock
• Town South Floral - 5217 50th St, Lubbock

This isn't even all of them; there are many more in the Hub City.

How to Preserve Your Bouquets

Now that you have your flowers, let's talk about ways in which you can keep them from dying after three days and looking all sad and wilted.

According to Meridian Floral, there are four methods that can be used to preserve your flowers. The first and simplest is air drying. All this requires is for you to bind the base of your bouquet with a rubber band or twine and then hang it upside down for 1 to 3 weeks.

Another method that's just as easy but requires some more tools is pressing your flowers. This is when you place the plants between two sheets of paper that aren't laminated and then add a weight to the top, like a stack of books, for a couple of weeks.

It's important to arrange the flowers so they are not overlapping each other before you apply the weight. This option is great for keeping those flowers as mementos while saving space. I've even seen it done where the pressed flowers are inserted behind a transparent phone case.

The third method gets a little wild since it introduces the microwave. Simply remove any extra leaves or stems from your bouquet, loosely wrap it in paper towel, and place in the microwave on low power for 2 to 3 minutes. Just make sure you check every 30 seconds or so to make sure you aren't cooking your flowers by accident.

Finally, the fourth method for preserving flowers involves those little silica gel packets that you see in new pairs of shoes or purses. These are meant to absorb any moisture in the air which, for our purposes, is perfect.

You'll need a good amount of the gel, so I recommend just running to your local Walmart for a small tub.

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Next, you'll use an airtight container and place your flowers inside. Take that gel you bought and pour it all over the flowers until they are completely covered. Seal the container and let it sit for up to 7 days. When ready, just brush away the remaining gel from the leaves and petals, and voila, you've successfully sucked out the moisture from your flowers allowing them to keep their appearance for years to come.

So, there you have it. No matter what the occasion, preserving flowers and bouquets can be as simple as just a few steps. With all the convenient locations right here in Lubbock, you can even get started today!