Fresh Flowers
You are currently browsing the articles from Flower Delivery matching the category Fresh 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.
Continue reading…
Written by Bobbie on January 20th, 2006 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Flowers and Fresh Flowers.
Pruning roses can be quite a controversial topic. Everyone seems to have a different opinion. Some even feel it is not necessary to prune rose plants at all-just let nature takes care of things. While this may work, pruning your roses in a more controlled manner will give you much nicer roses.
Become familiar with your variety of roses and what works best for them, get the right equipment and prepare to get your rose plants in top condition for good health and
beauty.
When is the Best Time?
Many people opt to prune their rose plants in the winter. Others just do enough to fit the protective coverings over them and then wait until the spring to do the heavy pruning. Either way, it is best to prune your rose plants while they are dormant.
The key to pruning roses is to remove the dead canes. Sometimes it is hard to determine if a brown cane is dead or not. Start by cutting at the tips, a few inches at a time. Keep cutting until the center of the cane looks white instead of brown. The white indicates life. After removing the dead canes, try to work oÂn the shape by cutting all canes back to about 18 inches. You also want to remove any twiggy, dense growth as well as canes that cross and rub against each other. Your goal in pruning should be to regain a compact shape in the plant and also to open up the center to allow sunlight and air circulation to reach themiddle of the plant.
Where oÂn the Cane do I Cut?
In addition to knowing what to prune off, you need to know where to prune. If you are cutting a cane back partway, cut it back to an outward-facing dormant bud. Look at your
plant. Notice that a number of leaflets make up each leaf. It is always an odd number. If you cut the stem just above one of the leaves, a bud will soon appear where that leaf joins the main stem. Look for outward facing leaves. If you cut there, the bud and the new branch that will develop will also be outward facing. When cutting roses to take indoors, also cut back to a leaf with five leaflets facing outward.
How Do I Make the Cut?
Now that you know what to cut and where to cut, you need to
know how to cut. Always make your cuts oÂn a slant. This
will encourage the water to drain off the cut. You will
need to coat large cuts with a commercial plant wound
sealer. Shellac or nail polish can also work to coat a
large cut.
Is Deadheading Worth It?
Deadheading your rose plants is well worth the effort. This
task can extend your blooming season. To deadhead your
plant, cut back a branch to an outward-facing bud that is
above five leaflets. You can also enhance the looks of your
rose plants by removing faded blooms. Remove them even if
there are other buds in a cluster still producing flowers.
Tool’s for the Job
When pruning your rose plants, use quality tools with sharp
blades. Depending oÂn the size of your rose plant, you will
need a hand pruner, such as the Heavy Duty Rose Pruner
(catalog no. HP-120DX) and/or a long-handled lopper, such
as the 17-inch Lopping Shears with 1.3-inch cutting
capacity (catalog no. LP-LP10). Always wear gloves to
protect your hands from the sharp thorns.
Always choose professional-quality ARS products from
Orchard’s EDGE for all of your pruning projects. Orchard’s
EDGE will give you a sharp blade to avoid ragged or torn
bark. ARS tools are well known in the horticulture
industry. No manufacturer can match the ARS Marquench-
hardened steel blades that are hard chrome-plated for extra
toughness and rust resistance. Making cutting tools in
Japan since 1876, ARS is the leader in ultimate cutting
performance.
More Resources from Orchard’s Edge:
For more information oÂn pruning roses, check out our other
articles oÂn this topic: “Pruning Roses,” and “Ten
Principles of Rose Pruning.”
To get your rose plants in the best condition to produce
beautiful flowers, determine when the plant is dormant.
Always make slanted cuts above a five-leaflet outward
facing leaf. Deadhead the plants to extend their blooming
season. Arm yourself with the proper, quality tools, and
you’re oÂn your way to a great rose season!
Kay DiVerde is a freelance writer, horticultural researcher
and consultant for Orchard’s Edge. DiVerde also writes for
a variety of newsletters and publications in the Midwest.
by Kay DiVerde
http://www.orchardsedge.com/
This article courtesy of http://www.premroses.com.
You may freely reprint this article oÂn your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.
Written by Bobbie on January 16th, 2006 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on Flowers and Fresh Flowers.
If you appreciate plants that have no hesitation in boldly stating their presence with huge, almost artificially perfect flowers, then tuberous begonias are for you. While some may find them rather too overstated, downright brazen even, if you like colour, and plenty of it, with subtlety an option rather than compulsory, then look no further.
Flowering from late spring, as the days exceed 13 hours long, until well into autumn when the foliage dies back, these tuberous-rooted perennials have been extensively hybridised and refined to the point where the larger-flowered forms are nothing short of spectacular. For those with greenhouses or a very mild winter climate there are even types that flower well into winter, if not right through the cooler months.
Description and classification and groups
Begonias are among those convenient plants where the proper name is also the common name. The genus is found in the tropics and subtropics, particularly in the Americas, and is made up of around 900 species with 130-odd in cultivation, from which many cultivars and hybrids have been developed. These garden forms have been divided into 8 main categories. They are:
1. Cane-like, which have narrow, upright stems with conspicuous leaf nodes and evergreen foliage.
2. Shrub-like, which are bushy plants with branching stems.
3. Thick-stemmed, which resemble the cane-like but with much heavier stems that sometimes form a trunk.
4. Semperflorens, which are the fibrous rooted types usually treated as summer-flowering bedding annuals.
5. Rhizomatous, which may be evergreen or deciduous and which are often grown as much for their foliage as for their flowers.
6. Rex-cultorum, which are the fancy-leaved Rex begonias that are usually grown as house plants.
7. Tuberous, which have thickened tuberous roots and which usually die back over winter or, in the case of the winter-flowering types, which may be dried off at some other time.
8. Trailing Scandent, which are pendulous, ever-blooming plants often with long internodes and which should not be confused with the trailing tuberous begonias.
Continue reading…
Written by Bobbie on January 16th, 2006 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Flowers and Fresh Flowers.
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of plants knows that daphnes have wonderfully fragrant flowers. And because some of them - usually the most scented - flower in winter, they’re the sort of must-have plants that are usually among the first planted in any new garden.
There are around 50 species of Daphne, many of which are choice garden specimens. They are widespread lot, ranging from Europe and North Africa to temperate and subtropical Asia. Most of them are evergreen or nearly so, but a few are deciduous, often flowering before the foliage expands.
The plant everyone calls daphne is Daphne odora, particularly the cultivar ‘Leucantha’ , which is often misspelt ‘Leucanthe’ . This shrub, a native of China and Japan, sells in vast numbers, mainly oÂn the strength of its perfume, but also because it’s a reasonably hardy evergreen bush. It grows to around 1.5m tall with leathery, deep green leaves up to 80mm long. From mid-winter oÂn into spring it produces clusters of small, starry, pale pink flowers. Several flower and foliage forms are available and the variety with yellow-edged leaves, ‘Variegata’ (sometimes called ‘Aureomarginata’ ), is often hardier and easier to grow than the species.
Daphne odora can be quite particular about soil conditions and is slightly frost tender in cold winter areas. It does best in cool, moist, humus enriched, well-drained, acid soil in sun or light shade. Work in plenty of compost or similar organic matter - it’s impossible to use too much - and feed regularly with liquid fertilisers and an occasional side dressing of acid fertiliser. Kept healthy, D. odora develops quickly and is attractive even without flowers, but it isn’t a long-lived bush. You can expect to have to replace it at least every 8-10 years.
Continue reading…
Written by Bobbie on January 13th, 2006 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Flowers and Fresh Flowers.
Roses the most delicate and tender plant, that gives soothing fragrance and holds beautiful look, needs a bit of extra care to charm for a longer span of life. The leaves that tend to fade or fall, intimate you to pay a little more attention to your roses and get ready to provide proper treatment to them.
Generally the rose leaves, due to temperature rise, hot air blowing, excessive sun rays, lack of watering or inadequate water sprinkling or even mishandling, fall down the water. They should be immediately taken out or else they may cause damage to the entire bush. Having removed the fallen leaves you need to start your treatment.
Be careful to keep water supply constant as you hold the stems under the water tap or running water from any other source. Use a well sharpened knife or scissor to trim each of the stems nearly two centimeters. Be a little prompter to replace the trimmed stems cut the pot or in the arrangement so that the cutting ends might not dry up. If dried, they will not get as energetic growth as expected.
Continue reading…
Written by Bobbie on January 13th, 2006 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Flowers and Fresh Flowers.
- - GrenvilleStation.com Gift Baskets and Flowers, having launched their new shopping cart in May 2008, introduces a new and exciting lineup of roses, lilies, lily bouquets, flowering plants and Valentines gifts to add to its growing selection of beautiful and tasteful designs for all holidays and occasions for quick delivery in Toronto and throughout Canada. (PRWeb Jan 1, 2009) Read the full ...
- - GrenvilleStation.com Gift Baskets and Flowers, having launched their new shopping cart in May 2008, introduces a new and exciting lineup of roses, lilies, lily bouquets, flowering plants and Valentines gifts to add to its growing selection of beautiful and tasteful designs for all holidays and occasions for quick delivery in Toronto and throughout Canada.
- - Snowzilla the giant snowman rose from the dead Tuesday morning after some holiday pranksters thumbed their noses at city orders and rebuilt him overnight.
- - Snowzilla the giant snowman came back from the dead, bigger than ever, this morning after some determined pranksters defied city orders and rebuilt him overnight.
- - Snowzilla the giant snowman was rebuilt overnight at its usual winter home in East Anchorage in defiance of a city order prohibiting it.
- - Filipinos who have lost a loved one appreciate the warm presence of friends and family, but what is one to do if one is abroad and cannot offer the consolation that comes with face-to-face condolences?
- - For two years, 92-year-old Sue Mosley has been answering phones for Jensen Tire — though the Winston Churchill Boulevard company didn’t know it.
- - LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 is seen opening 27-38 points lower on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, pausing after strong gains Monday, with investors eyeing gloomy surveys released overnight and looking to UK industrial production data to provide further direction later on.
