It helps its immune system from the owie it got from being cut.

Its an anti-coagulant. Stops the cut part of the stem clogging up and so allowing the water to still feed the flower.Sorry about my spelling.

Aspirin is the miracle medicene that doctors and scientists do not understand. It may be because aspirin is a blood thinner and it may thin the walls of flower stems to allow more water to circulate. This is just speculation on my part, but it actually sounds logical.

i didn't know that. thanks for the question, learned some thing new and now i'll be able to keep my flowers longer

Asprin makes the fluid pathways from the lower portions of the stem dialate and allow fluids to pass upwards to the leaves and flowers. It also increases the acidity slightly. Less bacteria. Add a penny. Copper is a natural fungicide. *Place cut flowers in cold water, not warm! Warm water dehydrates flowers. * Placing cut flowers in the refrigerator for six hours before arranging them will triple their lifespan. * Hot water–up to 110-200 F–is recommended to restore very wilted flowers (the hotter water is for the more wilted flowers). * Except for when you are cooling flowers, when you want cold water to cover the stems of the flowers, there is no need to have the water go higher on the stems than six inches. * Recut the stems every few days. * Remove all leaves and foliage below the water line. A lesson to Mr/Mrs ‘Go know thyself is trying to behave…’ Aspirin and acetaminophen are two different things. Aspirin is derived from willow bark, a botanical derivative; acetaminophen is paracetamol, derived from coal tar. Not the same thing. Grinding up an aspirin is not necessary. Put it in the water at the beginning and it’ll dissolve itself quite easily. Using sugar and soda is almost always the same. Sugar is carbohydrates, which almost every living thing on the planet uses in one form or another. The soda adds carbohydrates with the marginally added benefit of slightly acidic properties as the most commonly recommended soda is 7-Up or Sprite. An additional benefit from 7-Up is the marginal benefit of having the citric acid from citrus fruit. Citric acid is where ‘citronella’ candles get their usefulness from. Use plain aspirin, (Bayer, etc), add real lemon or lime, or orange, or grapefruit skin juice, And/or a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Amazing things happen.

Acetaminophen is taken from the bark of the birch tree... It is an analgesic and a natural anti coagulent... It also helps stabalize the PH of the water so that they can drink it better. Add 1 crushed up aspirin...very fine and some sugar and vinegar.

I never had heard that! wow you learn something new everyday

The stems get stoned and forget they were supposed to die :( Well what the heck I didn't know the right answer and I couldn't leave you waiting.

Dose it?thats a good tip i never knew.

"Meet Martha McBurney, the master gardener in charge of the demonstration vegetable garden at the University of Rhode Island. In the summer of 2005 she tested aspirin water on tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, basil and other plants after reading about it in a gardening publication called the Avant Gardener (PO Box 489, New York, NY 10028). The results were well, astonishing... "What caught my eye in the original Avant Gardener article was it said that aspirin is an activator of Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR). And that plants, when under stress, naturally produce salicylic acid, but not fast enough and in sufficient quantities to really help them out in time. So the bugs get them, and diseases get them, and they show even more stress. "But if you give them aspirin, it helps boost their immune system, kind of like feeding people echinacea so they don't get a cold." "Cut flowers that last forever? Well, not quite. But current research may explain a modern-old wives' tale of adding an aspirin to a vase of cut flower to keep the blooms fresh longer. Here's the explanation: The cutting of flowers is perceived by the plant as a wound, and so it stimulates the production of a substance that not only helps the plant fight off bugs, but also hastens aging or wilting, such as in the case of a cut flower. Aspirin halts the formation of the substance, which in turn, keeps the flowers looking young and not wilting prematurely. (For more helpful tips about keeping cut flowers looking fresh, naturally, click here: http://www.plantea.com/cutflowers.htm )." Source and further information: http://www.plantea.com/plant-aspirin.htm

it did at 1st but after moving around in my jewrely box the wax turned white and stared to brake off. but they kept their shape.

The stress of having their roots cut off gives the flowers headaches, which makes them wilt. Salicylic acid makes headaches go away. Yay!