Gardeners Tips

Alstromeria are one of the longest lived cut flowers I know. Several weeks of flowering are possible if the bunch is bought with colour just showing. Ensure there is plenty of bud and you will be delighted.

Mixed bunches can look exceptional but it is harder to cater for each type of flower in the bunch. Within a couple of days the tulips in this bunch had grown taller than the flowers they were arranged with. Tulips do tend to elongate as they mature.

Daffodils are a seasonal must and this year is no different. Whilst these flowers were picked from the garden on mother’s day the photographs show who should have been thinking of mother.
Remember to keep daffodils in a separate vase as the sap can poison other flowers and encourage them to deteriorate rapidly.

Carnations give Alstromeria a run for their money when it comes to longevity. The small flowered perpetuals are going to last at least 15 days and potentially far longer. The water will be changed and the bunch rearranged with a bit snipped off the end of the stalks every 5-7 days.

Do a Selfie and Treat Yourself
Treat yourself now and regularly, you do not need a special occasion for a floral uplift. Spring is a time to be cheerful and there are many houseplants that can provide good value.
Primroses and primulas can last a couple of weeks in the house as long as you give them light and water.They also come in a bigger variety of shades, stripes and colours or you can pot up a plant from the garden.
Shops and garden centers are selling pot grown bulbs that are just about to flower. They are often crammed into a small pot but you can arrange them into your own display for visual effect.

This striped version caught my eye and had me digging in my purse for my own plant. After sometime in the house I will plant it out in a damp semi-shaded area and hope for the best next year.
primroses often have a growth spurt in autumn after dying back a bit after flowering.

Formal or informal, neat or exotic, there are so many ways to do justice to the flowers. Here are just a few tips to get you thinking.

When you have spent time and effort growing some super blooms you may want to display them indoors. You may specialise in growing plants that will last well indoors like Chrysanthemums and Alstroemeria. You may be growing flowers for sale to florists or for special events, locations even church decorations.

Constancy Spry was a great one for’ doing the flowers’. She believed you needed to be aware of the mechanics of arrangement an the care and preparation of the material. Material includes more than just the flowers but holding them in place plus other plant items, display vessels and additional items. Secondly Constance also confronted the aesthetics of colour, shape , form texture and style. Work to your own pattern of ideas to develop taste and experience.

Gardeners Top Ten Tips For Cut Flowers

• Plunge into water as soon as they are picked to condition the flowers.
• Cut off an inch from the bottom of the stems when you are arranging them. When you change the water cut some more off the bottom. Do not cut poppies, hydrangeas or daffodils as they secrete a sap.
• Put a small sterilizing tablet in the water. Milton or steradent will help flowers last longer and keep the water bacteria free.
• Heat makes flowers bloom quicker and wilt so keep them cool to make them last.
• Use individual bud vases if flowers are in scarce supply. Other small vases, shot glasses, jugs or old bottles will do just fine.
• Strip leaves from the stems. Leaves rot quickly when submerged.
• Spraying the underside of the leaves and petals with a minimal amount of hairspray could help keep cut flowers fresh.
• Do not store fruit and flowers together. Fruit produces ethylene gas than speeds up decay.
• Top up with luke warm water regularly.
• Use plain, lukewarm water for most cut flowers, but use cold water for bulbs such as daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips. …

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Preparing Cut Flowers and Foliage

• When harvesting take a container of water around the garden and plunge freshly cut flowers into it immediately.
• Recut all stems at an angle with a sharp knife as you arrange them. This increases the area of stem that can take up water and also prevents a stem from sealing itself to the bottom of a vase and thus stopping water being taken up.
• Allow flowers to draw in water in a cool dark place for several hours prior to arranging.
• Remove any damaged or excess foliage and any that will be below the water line when arranged.
• Lilac and Sunflowers benefit from having all the foliage removed.

Ten Tips for Prolonging Vase Life

• Harvest early in the morning or just after sundown never in the heat of the day.
• If using Oasis scrape of 1-3 inches of outer bark from woody stems.
• Woody stems can be split vertically for 2-3 inches to help them drink. Do not hammer.
• Change the water when it starts to cloud, recutting the stems.
• Use a preservative in the water except for species where this causes problems like Campanulas, Bulb flowers, Orchids and naturally long lived tropical flowers.
• Keep cool and out of direct sunlight.
• Once in place avoid disturbing flowers which is apt to cause bruising.
• Avoid draughts and dry air.
• Certain flowers and blossoms carry a large amount of foliage in proportion to flower. Remove some foliage particulalry for Lilacs and Philadelphus.
• Avoid a vase or vessel that warms the water.

Avoid Ethylene …

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