Tips to lengthen the freshness of your Flowers

Just do what you do to maintain your own freshness. Proper supply of Water and Food, controlled Temperature, regular Trimming of harmful growth are the keys to keep yourself fit and fresh for a longer period of time.Your flowers need just the same from you. And if you just follow the golden rule of morality, like for others what you like for thyself, the fragrance and beauty of your lovely flowers would entertain you miraculously more than usual.

This WFTT formula does wonders in the context of flower care. Reasonable amount of food should be added to the water in the vase. It should be proportionate to the amount of water neither more nor less.

As to what might be an ideal food for your plant is something that is not yet suggested with hundred percent assurances. But flowers care-takers, o­n the basis of their observation and experience, recommend that some sugar solvent is best to feed your flowers, it could be ready-made powders available at florist shop or beverages like 7–up, Sprite, Limca or the likes. Some have suggested and tried even drug like aspirin to serve the purpose and it has worked. The basic idea behind this is to check harmful elements like bacteria to cause any sort of damage to your tiny flowers. The flowers differ from human body a bit. Human body needs supply of vitamins in the form of food to keep fresh and fit but the flowers have their own in-built kitchen to make food for themselves. What they need is protection against bacteria and this is done by sugar solvents. To check the bacteria it is also suggested to clean the vase carefully with detergent soaps or good quality washing powder.

The water-food mixture needs to be regularly replaced as soon as it becomes dirty or filthy.

As a man in extreme temperature can not retain his freshness so do the flowers. They need climate suitable to their nature. They remain fresh in a temperature between 65 Fahrenheit to 75 Fahrenheit. The sunrays should not fall directly o­n them, nor do they like to remain anywhere near TV sets or anything that is the source of radiation as these affect their water in-take and they loose freshness. They love comparatively cooler climate. So put them in a cooler place till they find their way in the vase, even damp cloths are good to wrap them in o­n their way from florist to your home since it helps to retain their freshness.

The freshness of human body is affected when it has unnatural hair growth and so it needs trimming or cutting off what is unnecessary. In almost similar manner some leaves in the vase stale and droop down their heads below the water line. This is a signal that trimming is required or else they will interfere with the water in-take of the fresher leaves and affect the duration of living. To give your flowers beautiful looks cut stems from o­ne to two inches. Do not forget to use a sharp knife.

Written by Bobbie on February 5th, 2006 with comments disabled.
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National Cheery Blossom Festival

Has it been warm this winter where you are? Reports on the news showed some of Washington DC’s famous cherry blossoms sprouting flowers abnormally early this year. Could the annual spring festival be in danger?

There’s no need to panic, at least not yet.

The chief horticulturist for the National Park Service says even when it gets warm during the day, temperatures still drop down at night. Rob DeFeo says that helps stop the trees from blooming early.

DeFeo says the 3,700 cherry trees around the Tidal Basin and Washington Monument will still bloom this spring.

The National Weather Service (website - news) says there were 16 days in January with temperatures in the 50s and 60s.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival this year is scheduled for March 25 to April 9.

Written by Bobbie on February 5th, 2006 with comments disabled.
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Azalea Care

It is important to know the conditions and cultures under which azaleas grow properly. You are to know what the proper place and time would be for planting azaleas. Its growth directly depends o­n both the factors.

Let us talk about the exposure azaleas prefer. Cool and shaded places are good for azaleas. It grows better under the light shadows of pine trees. It won’t be prudent to plant them under thick shadows. There are a few varieties that can grow under the direct sun and dry winds. But in general, most of the species prefer shady locations.

Azaleas requires soil to be acidic [4.5 to 6 pH), well drained, and less moisturized soil. Test the soil before planting azaleas and try to maintain the pH acidic as required for the best plant and flowers. Azaleas plants when planted in poorly drained areas they do not get sufficient oxygen for their growth and flowering. It damages roots too. If the area is not well drained, put decomposed barks of pine trees and then plant azaleas. It will serve the purpose.

Layering of materials usually leaves, grass, clippings etc. put around the plants to protect them. In case of azaleas, layering of 2- to 3 inch is required. It has utilities like conservation of soil moisture, temperature, and protecting the plants from weeds. You can use decomposed materials of vegetables or grass etc. While layering, take care of the stem of the plant not being dumped o­n.

Precautions are the part of azalea plantation. Its roots do not go deep into the ground. Therefore, it requires irrigation during dry season. In dry regions watering azaleas regularly is very important. It is also important to know when to irrigate the plants. Dig an area near to the plant and see the moisture of the soil. If you find the soil dry, put water sufficiently around the plants. You are to know how to irrigate the plants. Drip irrigation is better than overhead irrigation. Overhead irrigation may make the plants vulnerable to diseases. Water logging is also not good for the plants.

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Written by Bobbie on January 30th, 2006 with comments disabled.
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Plant of the Year Named for Flower Gardens

Wondering what special flowers to plant this year? How about the Plant of the Year?The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) has named Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Feuerhexe’ (Firewitch) the 2006 Perennial Plant of the Year.

Cheddar pink is the common name of this sun exposure perennial. It is an evergreen selection with bluish-gray, slivery foliage and purplish-pink, fragrant flowers in mid-spring. Rebloom can occur in the summer and into the fall. Firewitch is hardy from Zones 3-9. Mature mats of this cheddar pink have foliage 3-4 inches tall and 6-12 inches wide. The flowers reach 6-8 inches high. This evergreen perennial performs best in full sun in well-drained soils.

“The Perennial Plant of the Year Program helps consumers select plants that perennial industry experts find to be outstanding and easily grown,” said Steven Still, executive director of the PPA. “The homeowners can have great confidence that the Perennial Plant of the Year will grow well in the garden.”

The Perennial Plant of the Year Program was initiated in 1990. Each year, members of the PPA select a perennial that is suitable for a wide range of climate types, low maintenance, easily propagated and exhibits multi-seasonal interest.

For more information on the PPA visit http://www.perennialplant.org/. Specific culture information for Firewitch can be found at http://www.gpnmag.com/ by searching the article archive for Firewitch.

Written by Bobbie on January 30th, 2006 with comments disabled.
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Scientist jailed for smuggling Malaysia’s rarest flowers

If you enjoyed the Orchid Thief, or the movie Adaptation, this story from the Independent in the UK will surely interest you:

They have always been the most glamorous, exotic flowers on earth; now they are the most at risk. And just why orchids are the world’s most threatened plants has become dramatically clear with the jailing of a senior scientist at a British company who was an ardent orchid collector - and smuggler.

The attempt by Dr Sian Lim to bring more than 100 orchid specimens into Britain illegally from his native Malaysia involved some that are on the brink of extinction in the wild - specifically because of collectors.

Lim, from Putney, south London, head of research and development at Medpharm, a drugs company, was caught at Heathrow in June 2004. He was sentenced to four months in jail at Isleworth Crown Court in west London after admitting 13 charges of smuggling plants that are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). Some specimens can change hands for thousands of pounds. Customs officials and plant conservationists who examined his haul discovered that 126 plants of the 130 they seized from his luggage were all Asian slipper orchids - one of the rarest of all the 750 orchid genera, or groups of species. They are distinguished by a voluptuous lower petal, or lip, and are closely related to Britain’s rarest wild flower, the lady’s slipper. This orchid survived as just one plant, guarded round the clock in a secret location, until recently after British collectors nearly wiped it out. It has now been planted elsewhere. Some Asian slipper orchids, including ones in Lim’s haul, are only known from a single location. Others may now be extinct in the wild, within a few short years of being discovered, such have been the plant-hunters’ activities.

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Written by Bobbie on January 20th, 2006 with comments disabled.
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