Ask and Answer Flower Questions Archive - Oct 2006

By Ireland: Approx height of potted poinsettias 6 inch pot 7 inch pot 8 inch pot?

Answer by John: Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are popular indoor plants and are especially popular during the festive season of Christmas. They are grown in pots, both clay and plastic pots. Whatevere is the nature of the material, the pot is made of, the size and even the color of the pot should be in proportion to that of the poinsettia plant.

Initially, when the poinsettia is small, a small pot, probably a 4 - 5 inch pot should suffice. But when the poinsettia plant grows and it is ready for repotting in late spring, a larger and wider pot (may be around 10 inch pot which is 2 - 3 inch wide) is required to accommodate a bigger plant with lush growth and multiple poinsettia blooms. So, please go for a small pot if you are potting it or go for a larger pot if you are looking for a pot to accommodate a poinsettia ready for repotting.

By Burns: Where can i find a seller of bulk sunflower seeds?

Answer by Anum: Sunflower seeds are available in bulk with the following bulk seed dealers:
1) Burpee Seeds (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) whom you can call on 800 999-8552
2) Park Seed Co. (Greenwood, South Carolina) whom you can call on 800 845-3369
3) Mainstreet Seed and Supply (Bay City, Michigan) whom you can call on 866 229-3276

By Wilma: Can you tell me what kind of flower is a Orlaya grandiflora and how to grow it? Thanks

Answer by Daniela: Orlaya grandiflora is commonly known as White lace flower. It is a hardy annual wildflower found in dry grassy places, vineyards and olive groves in the mediterranean area, especially, Germany. It has white flowers arranged like the blooms of a lace-cap Hydrangea.

To start with, sow the seeds in March or April in a pot with soil compost. Take care that the seeds are sown only on the surface of the compost. Do not insert it deep into the soil. Cover it with a very thin layer of compost or vermiculite. Then, wrap the pot in a polythene bag and keep it at a temperature of around 20 degree celsius and allow sunlight to fall on it so as to seeds get germinated. The seeds take 3 - 4 weeks to get germinated. During this time, keep the medium moist but do not allow it to get waterlogged in the pot. Transplant the seedlings into another pot after they grow to a considerable size.

When they are grown enough in the pot, transfer them outdoors where the soil is well drained and there is enough sunlight. But these conditions are not a must since it is a wild flower.

If it is not possible for you to do all this, you can also directly sow the seeds outdoors directly in the soil. But, it should be done only towards the end of summer to have your blooms the next year.

By Terri: I have 4 huge purple and green flowering kale can you eat these and how long will they might last in like 20s at night also do you cut back a silver lace vine that grew almost over 20+ feet in one season. Love this site. Can you send in pics I have 3 indoor plants that i don't know the names?

Answer by Webmaster: Kale has high nutritive value in terms of nutrients like calcium. You can ofcourse eat them and in fact it is highly advised to eat Kale. Kale is not much cold tolerant. It usually sheds off its leaves to adapt to cold conditions. But mulching around the kale with 2 inches of organic material will help conserve moisture. So, please do a good mulch to protect from cold nights.

Silver lace should be cut down in early spring if you love to see it blossoming in summer. So, please do cut the vine as early as early spring.

We will try to identify the plants/flowers with pleasure. Please do send the photographs of those plants. We will wait on them.

By Farrell: I had a dispute with a friend about the above mentioned lilies. Please tell me the difference between the two.

Answer by Rima: Both the Cassablanca and Stargazer lilies belong to the Oriental lily group. Hence, they do have many similarities. But the striking difference etween the two is the color of these two varieties of flowers.

Cassablanca lily is a Oriental lily from Holland with white flowers and striking red stamens. Stargazer lily is a hybrid lily of the Oriental group which comes in a mix of white and deep pink/red colors.

By Leeza: I live in Florida and I have had a Christmas Cactus for many years now. I moved to a new place almost 4 months ago and I put the cactus on the stand on the sidewalk along with my other plants. A few weeks passed and I noticed that it started to look wilted like and the stems were limp. So I brought it into the house and noticed that there was also some spots on it. It has been in my house a few months now and is not looking much better. Can you tell me if there is anything I can do to save this cactus?

Answer by Dillon: The condition of the Christmas cactus you are describing could be a result primarily of water logging. Please see that water is not logged in. Try out changing the soil of the pot which is a peat-based mix with coarse sand in the ratio of 3:1. This kind of soil allows moisture retention (but does not allow water logging) as well as free flow of water. Also make sure that the pot allows free drain of water.

And secondly, this condition could also have been because of not receiving adequate sunlight. You said that the plant was receiving good sunlight previously. If that is ok. Fine. Otherwise, please see that sunlight falls on the plant during day time for atleast a few hours. So, it is advisable to keep the plant near an eastward window.

By Donna: Why is the central location of the pistil important?

Answer by Mingmei: Pistil is one of the four basic parts of a flower, the central structure around which are arranged the stamens, the petals, and the sepals. The pistil is usually referred to as the female reproductive organ of a flowering plant.

The pistil in most flowers is located to the centre of the flower. This is an adaptation of the flower to easily trap the pollen released by the anthers on the stamen, surrounding the pistil. It is thus, the central location of the pistil is only to facilitate fertilisation in the easiest way. Apart from the self pollinating flowers, same is the case even with insect pollinated or bee pollinated flowers because it can ensure the pollen attached to the insects or bees gets transferred to the the sticky stigma at the top of the pistil.

Further, the location of the pistil in a flower is also important from the point of view of the transfer of pollen to the ovules for fertilisation through the tube like style running vertically from the stigma.

By Brandon: I would like to send my Czech girl friend some flowers that are may be the officially recognized flower for Czech. Can you please let me know the names of a couple popular native flowers??she loves her Czech heritage and I know that would mean a lot.

Answer by Webmaster: Rose is the national flower of Czech Repulic and the most popular glower gift in the country. If you are planning to gift a flower with some meaning for the culture and heritage of the country, a rose should be the best choice .

Rose is the national flower of Czech Repulic and the most popular glower gift in the country. If you are planning to gift a flower with some meaning for the culture and heritage of the country, a rose should be the best choice.

Besides, based on our research of the market statistics of the floral market of the Czech Republic, it is the mixed bouquets of lilies, carnations and chrysanthemums more popular for gifting Czech women. So, go for a mixed bouquet with these flowers if you would like to gift the popular flowers among the Czech women.

If you want to gift native flowers only, may be some flowers like black-eyed susan, can be a better choice.

By Michele I just started as a florist designer I had taken a floral Design course at local college in 2003 My question is I love Lilacs and have a huge lilac bush which I prune regularly I want to know how to use lilacs in arrangements and how to keep their life span longer. Thanks.

Answer by Daniela: Lilac plants are hard woody plants with beautiful flowers, which when used in floral arrangements, add beauty to the arrangement. Since the stems are woody, lilacs are not readily usable in floral arrangements. But, you can follow a few tips to make floral arrangements using lilacs and let them live long:

• Cut lilacs from the tree, preferably before when the flowers on the lilac panicle bloom.
• In order to allow for the plant to absorb water, split the stem with a pruner a couple of inches up the center. Some people even crushes the stem with a hammer to accomplish the task. But that is not advisable.
• If you want the flowers in the arrangement last longer, they should have enough water content. So, keep them in water for a few hours or even overnight if possible before using in floral arrangements.
• # Do add as much water as possible in the container holding the arrangement and add a floral preservative or a little sugar to the arrangement. So, it is advisable to use a deep container so as to hold good amount of water.

By Sara: Is it absolutely necessary to dig up tulip& dahlia bulbs in the fall in the Colorado central front range area?

Answer by Guna: It is always better to replant the bulbs in fall. For your bulbs to flourish well, they should be dug up in autumn after the foliage has died down completely, store them away from direct heat and cold, allow those bulbs to get some ventilation and replant with some good fertilizer. This activity results in good spring color for your garden with blooms all around.

So, please do dig your bulbs up and replant them back along with some fertilizer for a colorful garden in the spring.

By Josie: How to care for a Montauk Daisy?

Answer by Maryam: Montauk Daisy (Nipponanthemum) is a shrubby perennial with beautiful white flowers used as cut flowers. Montauk Daisy performs best in fertile, well-drained soil. Montauks perform best when cut back almost to the ground in spring.

Winter months can result in constant wetness or ice on the leaves of the Montauk Daisy. Frost heaving caused by alternate freezing and thawing of the soil may also be a critical problem Montauks shall have to face. You can try out these tips to combat the winter:

• Mound the soil up around each montauk daisy plant.
• Create a drainage ditch for the montauks.
• Provide shade for the plants.
• Provide a light airy mulch to insulate the roots of montauk daisies.

By Grace: What white flower which gives off fragrance only at night time?

Answer by Daniela: Moonflower (Ipomea alba) is the white flower which open in the evening with a sweet fragrance and last through the night. It remains open until touched by the morning Sun. Besides white, Moon flowers come in pink colors also.

Moonflower is a beautiful twining vine which grows fast in really hot weather. It is a tender tropical perennial but it is now growing popularity as an annual vine even in colder areas. Planted near a deck or porch, its heavenly fragrance permeates the air in the whole garden. Moonflower is really the best choice for anyone who loves evening gardening, for two reasons - its appealing beauty and exclusive fragrance.

By Brandon: I recently bought two big baskets of mums and after having them for approx a month they have started to turn brown. I have watered them relogiously,what did I do wrong?

Answer by Ingrid: Mums require good watering to the extent that the soil is moist all the time. But care should be taken that water is never logged. Please check for any water logging with your mums. Mums cannot tolerate water logged conditions.

If that is is not the case with your mums, may be it was infested with eelworm. In that case, please give the plant a heat treatment. To heat treat you mums, deroot the plants, wash off the soil and immerse the roots in water at a temperature of 46?C for about 5 minutes. After heat treating the mums, replant them back.

By John: What does bending, conventional production ,and prunning means in rose prodution?

Answer by Sara: Here are the answers for your queries on the cultivation of roses:

Bending Roses: Bending refers to the bending of canopy of the rose plant. This is a modern technique of growing roses, where undesirable stems of the plant are bent. Rose stems are bent in such a way that all but the bottom two leaves on the stem are bent downwards. The effect of this is that the stem stops elongating and the buds in the leaf axils at the base of the shoot (below the bend) begin to grow, while those on the bent portion stop growing any more. And, the resultant new shoots have the potential to be much stronger because they have the carbohydrate supply of the bent shoot providing carbohydrates for the growth of the new shoot.

Conventional Production Methods of Roses:Conventional production methods refer to the old and customary practices of growing roses prior to the adoption of growing roses on the lines of modern practices like bending. Conventional production methods involve a cycle of pinching and harvesting.

Pinching is a method where the upper section of a growing shoot (the uppermost leaves and bud) is removed. Pinching thus, effectively sacrifices a growing shoot in favor of a new shoot that will be available for a desired target date. In turn, harvesting is the removal of a rose shoot that is close to the opening of the flower. The action of pinching or harvesting results in a new shoot at the leaf axils (area where leaf springs from stem) of the uppermost remaining leaves. After this, in another 4 to 6 weeks, the resulting shoots are ready for harvest.

Pruning Roses: Pruning is an essential step in cultivating roses. Pruning keeps the plant healthy. It promotes new growth, removes dead, broken or diseased canes, improve air circulation and trains roses to a desired shape. Pruning encourages flowering, either more blooms or larger blooms, and is very much important to keep modern rose varieties blooming repeatedly all summer long. And so roses are usually pruned prior to the summer season.

By Hundley: Can you tell me what "rat tail statice" looks like?

Answer by Nima: Rat tail statice is also popularly known as the Russian Statice or Pink Pokers (Lilmonium or Psylliostachys suworowii). It is a popular cut flower, more used in cut flower arrangements than dried flower arrangements unlike other species of Statice (Lilmnium).

Russian statice has its small flowers in dense, pencil-thin spikes, that twist and curve above the foliage (looks like a rat tail), which gives beauty to the arrangements when used in floral arrangements. It blooms slightly earlier than other statices. Otherwise the culture and uses are similar to other forms of Statice.

By Moore: I was wondering if someone could tell me the flowers of certain months? September, July and February. Thank you.

Answer by Bianca: The flowers of the month are as follows:
January - Carnation
February - Primrose
March - Daffodil
April - Daisy
May - Lily of the valley
June - Rose
July - Water Lily
August - Gladiolus
September - Aster
October - Dahlia
November - Chrysanthemum
December - Holly

By Miuel: Which is the more beatiful flower from Catalu?a, Spain?

Answer by Daniela: It is very extremely difficult to say which flower is the most beautiful because it depends on the individual perceptions. For some, Rose may be the most beautiful, for some others it could be a Tulip and for somebody else, it could be daisies.

As far as the native flowers of Spain region are considered, Crocus and Scilla are found to have been considered beautiful flowers.

Crocus is a genus of about 80 species of hardy corms which bloom in fall, winter and early spring. Crocusses bloom very early in the spring and so are often found to have been poking up through the snow. These beautiful flowers are a great accent in any garden. They can be planted as houseplants, in rock gardens, woodland gardens, meadows, and yards.

Scilla (commonly known as Spanish Bluebells), are native to Spain (and Portugal) and have beautiful blue, bell-shaped blossoms. The flowers of Scilla are usually blue, but white, pink, and purple types are also known; most flower in early spring, but a few loom in autumn as well.