365 Days of Floral Education - Days 256 - 260

As part of our 125^th 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 256 - In 1846 the Caledonia Horticultural Society of Edinburgh, offered a prize of 2,000 pounds to the first person producing a blue dahlia. The color has never been produced. While dahlias produce anthocyanin, an element necessary for color production, to achieve a true blue color in a plant, the anthocyanin delphinidin needs six hydroxyl groups. To date dahlias have only developed five, so the closest that breeders have come to achieving a "blue" specimen are variations of mauve, purples and lilac hues.

Day 257 - Today the dahlia is still considered one of the native ingredients in Oaxacan cuisine; several cultivars are still grown especially for their large, sweet potato-like tubers. Dacopa, an intense mocha-tasting extract from the roasted tubers, is used to flavor beverages throughout Central America.

Day 258 - Kangaroo paw is a common name for a number of species, in two genera of the family Haemodoraceae, that are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. These perennial plants are noted for their unique bird attracting flowers. The tubular flowers are coated with dense hairs and open at the apex with six claw-like structures: from this paw formation the common name "Kangaroo Paw" is derived.

Day 259 - The word cosmos is derived from Greek and means orderly, beautiful, and balanced. Cosmos blooms reach sizes of up to 2 inches in diameter and have vivid colors and a sweet aroma which emanates from the flower.

Day 260 - The Poppy is an angiosperm or flowering plant of the family Papaveraceae. Ornamental poppies are grown for their colorful flowers; some varieties of poppy are used as food, whilst other varieties produce the powerful medicinal alkaloid opium which has been used since ancient times to create analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drugs.

365 Days of Floral Education - Days 251 - 255

As part of our 125^th 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 251 - The cake remaining after the seeds of a sunflower have been processed for oil is used as a livestock feed. Some recently developed cultivars have drooping heads. These cultivars are less attractive to gardeners growing the flowers as ornamental plants, but appeal to farmers, because they reduce bird damage and losses from some plant diseases. Sunflowers also produce latex, and are the subject of experiments to improve their suitability as an alternative crop for producing nonallergenic rubber. These sunflowers are #Jerseyfresh

Day 252 - The Crown of Thorns is a woody, multi-stemmed, succulent shrub that originated in Madagascar. Dark green, tear shaped leaves appear randomly on each thorn covered branch. When a Crown of Thorns plant becomes stressed due to over watering or under watering, humidity or temperature changes, it may quickly drop all of its leaves. Normally, once the cause of stress is resolved, fresh foliage will quickly return to your plant. Crown of Thorns will produce flowers nearly all year, but especially during the winter months.

Day 253 - Lisianthus have rose-like showy blossoms in grand colors, and with proper care they can last 7-10 days. Many of the unopened buds which show color may open fully. Smaller buds may not open but simply support the larger blossoms and accent the foliage.

Day 254 - Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native mainly in Mexico, but also Central America, and Colombia. A member of the Asteraceae or Compositae, dicotyledonous plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants.

 

 

 

Day 255 - In Europe and America, prior to the discovery of insulin in 1923, diabetics—as well as consumptives—were often given a substance called Atlantic starch or diabetic sugar, derived from inulin, a naturally occurring form of fruit sugar, extracted from dahlia tubers.  Inulin is still used in clinical tests for kidney functionality.