Stacey Koziel
Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long, you’ll have good luck. Most of us recognize pennies as “lucky,” whether you’re superstitious or not, but luck has nothing to do with how the humble penny might be able to help your flowers live longer. There’s a lot of truth behind this old wives’ tale.
No, you shouldn’t be tossing pennies into your garden soil.
But, if you have a bouquet or floral arrangement you want to last longer, a copper penny in the vase can do the trick.
While there are plenty of “hacks” out there to keep flowers alive longer, pennies are so effective because they’re easily accessible and, well, it doesn’t get more cost-effective.
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However, it’s essential to make sure you’re using the right penny for the job. Copper serves as a natural fungicide. It’s bacteria and fungi that tend to shorten the lifespan of your flowers, causing them to wilt and die quickly. By tossing a penny in the bottom of your vase, the copper will fight those things off and keep your flowers alive longer.
How do you know if you have the “right” penny? Take a look at the date before adding it to your floral arrangement. Pennies made before 1982 were made with 95% copper. After that, they were minted by using mostly zinc, and only receiving a thin copper coating on the outside to provide the traditional look.
While that thin coating can be better than nothing, it’s not going to protect your flowers as well as the pennies made mostly of copper.
Does this trick work? Absolutely! But, make sure you’re digging through your change to find older pennies to use, and save up the newer ones in your piggy bank.
