Wednesday, July 24, 2013

365 Days of Floral Education - Days 196 - 200

As part of our 125th Anniversary celebration at Stein Your Florist Co. we are sharing a year of floral education, November 1, 2012 thru October 31, 2013. Each day we will post something new on our Facebook page to share our knowledge of our favorite things, flowers and plants and we'll be updating our blog every 5 days or so. No need for pencils and notebooks, just sharing some simple lessons in floristry.

Day 196 - As the longest lasting commercial Orchid variety on the market, Cymbidiums are wonderful whether used by the stem or the individual bloom (although they will last longer on the stem). Cymbidiums are best stored between 8 and 10 degrees Celsius. Stems should be re-cut upon arrival and placed in cool fresh water with the proper dose of floral preservative (If storing in water tubes, the water should be changed every 3 days). When properly handled and stored, Cymbidiums can often last 15 to 20 days!

Day 197 - Roses are grown in areas with lots of intense light energy. Production areas close to the equator (Colombia and Ecuador) get 12 hours light every day of the year and the light energy (luminosity) is strongest at the equator vs. northern latitudes.










Day 198 - Most flowers grown in Colombia are bred in European labs, especially Dutch labs, which ship seedlings and cuttings to growers. A single gerbera plant, for instance, can last several years and produce hundreds of blooms, each one taking 8 to 12 weeks to mature.

Day 199 - Convallaria majalis commonly known as the Lily of the Valley, is a sweetly scented (and highly poisonous) woodland flowering plant that is native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe and in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. A limited native population occurs in Eastern USA (our area, you may have seen them blooming over the last couple weeks). There is; however, some debate as to the native status of the American variety.

Day 200 - While Callas are produced year round in South America, the peak months of production are from May to October where one farm can produce up to 100,000 stems per week. This, of course, coincides perfectly with the spring and summer wedding and event seasons where Callas are widely used in bridal bouquets and arrangements. During the low production months from December to April the number of stems produced can be as low as 40% of regular production numbers.

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