Repurpose drinking straws

Jeanette S
by Jeanette S
With the heat ruining most of our flowers, the only beautiful color left in the yard being the Caladium, I needed a way to help keep them standing tall so I picked 3 different colors and used drinking straws to help assist me. Instead of throwing them out, save some and reuse them. It just happens that I have red accents in my kitchen so these were perfect for me...but you can find them in many different colors.
Straws hold up flowers in a vase!
Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Marie DeSalvo Marie DeSalvo on Sep 14, 2016
    I recently purchased a caladium plant as a clearance item that had a few stems bent over.I cut them off and placed them in a vase also. Will they get roots in water? Anyway the leaves are so beautiful I hated to throw out the ones that had stems that were too short to do anything with.
  • Suzy Q Suzy Q on Oct 06, 2016
    Do they grow well indoors
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  • SooUu SooUu on Aug 27, 2016
    OMG, I just had a "why didn't I think of that" moment!
    • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Aug 28, 2016
      I see so many adorable things on HT and think the same thing! I don't arrange flowers, I usually have different varieties blooming at the same time so I just hold various kinds in my hand, moving them up and down and around until all their little faces are showing, then take the scissors and clip off all the stems the same length. I then put them in a vase that is smaller at the top and this pretty much holds them in place. I think you could cut straws at different lengths and do the same thing. Then when you discard wilted flowers, just rinse out the straws, wrap them with a twistie-tie and keep them for the next time.
  • Margie Spenser Margie Spenser on Oct 06, 2016
    The question about whether the caladium will get roots makes me wonder if I can use the straw trick when I am purposely trying to root things. Sometimes the stems get tangled if there are too many, or they droop so much over the rim of the glass that the ends come out of the water. I think having a straw to support them would help... and straws are so easy to cut to the right length.
    • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Oct 07, 2016
      Caladiums do not root as they form from bulbs...I don't know if a straw would help in rooting or not...I have never tried it! There are things that will root and then there are things that won't root. Most things root in water in a clear container. If that fails, try a non clear container with water. For instance, Gardenias root very easily...Azeleas just about can't be rooted. Forsythia is easy, just cut off a branch and stick it in the ground!
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