How do you maximize your aravot's period of freshness?

Question

Every Sukkot any aravot that I start the holiday with tend to get dried up by the end of the holiday, if not to the point of being unfit for service, at least enough to be ugly. What do you do to maximize the amount of time your aravot stay fresh?

Answer 1

keep them in the fridge. this also helps to prevent mold growing on the lulav holder, and doesn't take hardly any effort, like many complicated wet paper towel/Al foil things

Answer 2

Buy an extra set or two. the cost is trivial compared to the hiddur of a $50 etrog.

Answer 3

Plant them near your residence (after "rooting" them in a vase) so next year you can pick new ones as needed.

Answer 4

If you live in a more arid and hot climate, like southern California, put a few drops of water in the lulav bag. When you walk out in the street, the heat of the day causes the water to evaporate, but because the bag is closed, it has nowhere to go. this disperses the water around the whole bag, and keeps the everything moist. Kind of like a mini greenhouse.

As I found out this year, however, this does not work in a more humid environment. It just makes everything soggy and moldy.