Toss Your Floral Foam and Opt for This Sustainable (and Cheap!) Alternative Instead

Aloe vera works just as well to get you beautiful arrangements—without hurting the planet.

Beautiful floral arrangements aren’t always friendly to the very nature you’re looking to add to your space. Floral foam—those green blocks used to hold blooms in place—is single-use and contains a lot of plastic, leading bouquet lovers to look for eco-friendly alternatives. The most recent solution trending on social media: aloe vera.

If you’re planning on arranging flowers soon (it is mum season, after all), home decorator and Instagram creator @krishna_homedecor recommends trying aloe vera leaves—and received nearly 82,000 likes in response.

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A post shared by Krishna Home Decor (@krishna_homedecor)

How to Use Aloe Vera In Your Arrangements

Krishna first takes a section of an aloe leaf and sizes it to fit perfectly inside her container. She makes sure both sides of the leaf are firmly positioned between the sides of the bowl so that it’s stable, then she creates holes that are the same size as her blooms.

Once the leaves are positioned, all that’s left to do is insert the flowers. Because aloe vera has such a high water content, Krishna says you don’t need to add any water to the vase after creating your arrangement (as an added perk, you also won’t have to change out your water to keep your flowers fresh).

Related: What Does an Overwatered Aloe Plant Look Like?

A handful of commenters expressed skepticism, but the creator doubled down and disproved most concerns. One user worried that aloe vera wouldn’t fit wide-stem floral arrangements, but the aloe leaf actually can hold thicker flower stems than shown in the video—you just need to adjust the size of the holes, she explained.

Because aloe vera has been known to stain certain materials, another commenter was concerned it would leave marks in the creator’s vase. 

Fortunately, that’s not the case with Krishna’s hack, either—she soaks the aloe vera in water before using it to prevent any staining. This is a step you’d need to take before using aloe vera for other remedies (like skincare)—soaking the leaves for about 10 minutes removes alonin, or the sap that the raw leaf contains.

Related: 7 Long-Lasting Cut Flowers for Enduring Arrangements

One commenter also raised the point that the aloe leaf would eventually rot in the water, whereas floral foam doesn’t. However, the arrangement will die out long before the aloe leaf does. And depending on how quickly your cut flowers need to be replaced, your aloe vera might even last you multiple arrangements.

Beyond a sustainable version of floral foam, Krishna loves using aloe for all different kinds of floral designs and decorations—not only is it eco-friendly, it’s also easy to cut to size and flexible. If you don’t have your own aloe plant, a fresh leaf from the store typically costs $2 or less (making it less expensive than floral foam, if you needed another reason to try this hack).

Related: This Eco-Friendly Alternative to Peat Moss Actually Stores Carbon

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