THE PROBLEM

How do you prolong the life of cut flowers?

The experiment is like a competition to see which two elements prolong the life of flowers.  There were two groups of tulips and each group had different elements added to the water.  There was always one glass that just had plain, cold, tap water.  The two longest living tulips from each group were then considered the finalists.

Hypothesis

Lemonade and Sugar will prolong the life of cut flowers as based on research, these substances help tulips live longer and appear healthier.  

MATERIAL

Measuring spoons, pure lemon juice, baking powder, 1cup of sweetened lemonade, cold water, one penny and sugar. Twelve red, orange or yellow tulips, and six glasses or vases.

Experiment

1- Find six vases of glasses that are big enough for two tulips each and fill five of them up half way with fresh, cold water.

2- In each glass/vase, put exactly one teaspoon of each substance.

3- The substances are: baking powder, sugar, just plain, cold water, pure lemon juice and one penny.  Fill the empty glass/vase with sweetened lemonade.

4- Then, take twelve orange, red or yellow tulips and cut the stems 6 centimeters from the tip of the stem.

5- Place two tulips in each vase/glass.

6- After, wait till each plant is dead.

7- During these days, keep a record of your observations of both tulips in each of their vases.

8-Also, right on a piece of paper when you started the experiment and the day of the completion.

MY Observations

1- The penny, I observed, was very dirty and that’s why the plant died.  Harmful bacteria kill the nutrients and fluids in the stem, causing it to wilt.  When the stem wilts, the tulip will begin to die, just as it did. The tulips looked horrible. The stem was drooping and all the petals had fallen off by the sixth day.  They STUNK!!!!

2- Next to die was the baking powder.  During Experiment # 1, I had observed that the two tulips in this vase both had very rigid stems and brightly coloured petals.  This time, these tulips did look healthy, but not enough to win the contest.

3- After the baking powder, the tulips with the pure lemon juice died.  Based on research, I observed that lemon juice is supposed to prolong the life of flowers.  I disagree, as besides an acid, ( lemon ), you need a carbohydrate as well to stop bacteria from growing in the plant. The tulips, however, looked bright, colourful.  There was a lot of snotty gunk at the bottom of the glass and the stem was actually quite rigid.

4- In fourth place, there is the water.  It’s normal for the water to be in fourth as the H2o was fourth in the last experiment as well. The two tulips looked as if they had been dropped a few times. The stem was wilting quite a bit and more than half the petals had fallen off.

5- With the lemonade and the sugar, it’s a tie that cannot be broken. They both have a ton of snotty gunk at the bottom of the vase and they had just started to bloom by day six. The petals were luminous and bright, and the stem was rigid and a luscious green.

Conclusion

Fresh cut flowers will live longer, if you add a teaspoon of sugar or  a cup of sweetened lemonade.   Observed from my point of view, this means that you DO need an acid ( lemonade ) and a carbohydrate ( sugar ) to prolong the life of cut tulips.

MISTAKES THAT MIGHT OCCUR

1- you don’t put exactly one teaspoon of each element in each vase/glass and when there isn’t the same amount of water in each vase/glass

2- you don’t remember to watch the tulips and you forget them