Easter Lily Care

Easter Lilies make a wonderful gift this time of year.  Chances are you will receive one or you may buy one for yourself.  Here are some tips on keeping your lily healthy so you can enjoy it all season.

• Keep the soil moist but be sure not to over water.  To check your water level simply put a lead pencil in the soil, if it comes out dry it is time to water.  The top soil will dry faster then the soil around the roots so this is a good way to see how moist the soil is.
• Cool steady temperatures will make your lily last longer.  Temperatures around 60 to 65 degrees are best.  Avoid warm and cold drafts from doors, vents, heaters, and windows.
• Your lily will bloom best in bright, but indirect sunlight.  Setting the lily in the window may "scorch" the blooms or the foliage.  This will make the lily bloom out faster and can give it long term damage and prevent it from re-blooming.
• Remove the pollen, yellow anthers, from your lily.  This will prolong the life of the blooms and help protect clothing, table cloths, and more from the yellowish stains caused by pollen.
• For tips on transplanting your lily when the time comes read this great article.

So as you can see proper care will help keep your Easter Lily lasting longer and insure it looks beautiful on Easter morning.  As a florist we will insure that we take good care of your Easter Lily before it even arrives at your door.  We will monitor the water, light, and temperatures for you.  Not to insult the big box stores but when you see them sitting in the doorway and the pots are dry you know that they are not receiving the proper care.  You may pay a little more at a florist for your poinsettia but you will get more in return.  Remember the old saying, "you get what you pay for."?  Well in this case that is 100% true.

Care and Growing Tips For Blooming Orchid Plants

Orchids are beautiful plants but one that we get a lot of questions about.  The most common complaint of orchid plants is getting them to bloom again.  We have compiled a list of tips that may help you with your orchid care.


1.  Temperature:  Orchids will grow and bloom best in a room that maintains a temperature of 70 degrees.  They do not like drastic temperature changes such as blasts of warm or cold air from vents, doors, or windows.  This can harm the blooms and cause them to fall off early or not appear at all.


2.  Lighting: Orchids love bright indirect natural light.  Placing an orchid directly in the window can cause the blooms and leaves to burn.  Instead place it out of the direct light but where it can still enjoy the sunlight from a distance.  They will not bloom with florescent or incandescent light alone, they need the natural light of the sun to bloom again.  This puts most offices out of the question for blooming orchids.


3.  Watering:  Orchids do not like to sit in water.  If you see water pooling in the tray under your pot or your pot overflows while watering this is too much.  The water needs to flow out of the soil.  When the water washes through it caries with it nutrients and impurities.  If it sits in the pot the impurities are not removed and can be absorbed through the roots, thus damaging the orchid.  Orchids like to be moist but not sitting in pooled water.  The best time to water orchids is in the morning and with slightly warm tap water.  To see if your orchid needs to be watered place your finger, or a pencil, in the soil and if it comes out dry it is time to water.  Overwatering will cause more damage to your orchid then underwatering.


4.  Food:  Use only orchid food on your orchid plants, other plant foods can contain urea that can harm your orchid.  You can dilute your orchid food to 1/4 of the recommended dose and add it to your watering once a week.


5.  Pruning: Trim off the orchid bloom when it starts to wilt, this will allow the water and nutrients to feed the remaining blooms with ease.  Trim your orchid with pruning scissors after the blooms are all gone.  This will help it start the blooming process again.


Still not blooming?  Some orchids will bloom only once.  If you are looking for a nice blooming species try the phalenopis variety.  These will give you years of blooming pleasure if you follow the steps above.


Enjoy!

Easy to Care For House Plants

Are you looking for a house plant that is easy to care for?  Do you have a not so green thumb?

Here are a few house plants you may want to consider for your home.

1. Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra Elaitor) - Sounds sturdy doesn't it?  Well that's because it is.  This plant can grow just about anywhere and flourish.  This plant can be grown inside and out.  It works great for ground covering on the outside of the home or as a small potted plant inside.  This plant can grow in low light, so it would be perfect for the office.  This plant can tolerate temps as low as 28 degrees and can also handle higher temperatures, it is a tropical at heart. This is a slow growing plant so have patience with it.  The sturdy and long lasting tendencies of this plant are suited for a novice grower.

2.  Christmas Cactus (zygocactus) - This plant is just beautiful in the home during the winter.  The blooms start in early winter and should go through the Christmas season.  This flower likes cooler temperatures and should be kept in a nice dark room in the evenings.  We found a wealth of knowledge about this plant here.  This plant does need more care then the Cast Iron Plant but will be a nice starter plant for a novice.  

3. Bird's Nest Plant (Sansevieria) - These plants are easy to grow and can tolerate droughts.  If you forget to water your plants this is a great one to have.  It can go up to 2 weeks between water cycles.  It can also grow in a variety of temperatures and lighting conditions.  

4.  Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum).  This is a beautiful blooming plant that is very easy to take care of.  When it is thirsty it will droop.  This will alert you to when it needs to be watered.  Once watered it will perk back up and look as good as new.  Make sure that your Peace Lily gets a nice spray of water regularly because it does enjoy the humidity.  

5.  Pothos (Epipremnum)-  This is another one of our favorites.  This plant can grow up to 10 feet and can be pruned back to grow fuller.  You can even take the pruned stems off and they will grow new plants.  These plants do not need a lot of water but should not be allowed to dry out to much or it will cause wilting.  Grows well in a variety of lights and is touted as almost impossible to kill. 

We invite you to check out this Easy Care site to find even more great easy to care for plants.  

Make sure you stay tuned for the rest of our series in House Plant Care.

Everyday House Plant Care

This is the first of a series of articles we are going to write on House Plant Care.

We will cover:

• Everyday Care
• Plants that are easy to care for
• Choosing a house plant
• Top 5 indoor blooming house plants
• Top outdoor plants
• Decorating with house plants
• Best occasions to give house plants for
• When to re-pot your house plants and how
• When to bring in your plants or how to cover them for winter

Today we will discuss basic everyday care and handling tips for your indoor house plants.

Temperature: First off the best temperature that you can have for your indoor plant is 75 degrees.  If you are able your plants will also enjoy and indirect cool breeze.  Avoid placing your plant where it will receive cold drafts or great amounts of heat.  Never place a plant on a radiator or TV.  The heat that these will put off will dry out your plant and cause it to wither. 

Watering: One tip we love to share at the shop is our "Pencil Trick".  When you take a pencil and insert it into the soil and remove it check for moisture.  If your pencil is moist then your plant is fine and does not require water.  If your pencil comes out dry then it's time for a good drink.  Water your plant until the tray under it shows signs of moisture.  This will insure that you have moistened the soil all the way through.  Plants also like a nice misting with a water bottle even if it's not watering day.  You will also find that most plants will not need as much water in the winter so be sure not to over water during these months.  

Pruning & Shaping:  One thing that is common is letting a plants growth get out of control.  Do not be afraid to trim off a out of place, or out of shape, branch.  You can use your fingers, scissors, or a sharp knife to trim off these unwanted pieces.  Do not be afraid to prune your plants when needed, this will not harm your plants, it can actually encourage new growth.  Cleaning your plants can also help them grow and keep them green and healthy.  You can easily wipe the leaves with a soft dry cloth.  Avoid using any type of oils or cleaning sprays as this will clog your plants pores and damage the plant.  We do use Leaf Shine in the shop but we have not had any problems with this product damaging plants.  

     If your plant grows in a window you may need to turn it from time to time.  It will grow towards the light and this may cause it to grow unevenly.  Simply rotate your plant from time to time to allow for even sunlight.

If your plant is blooming~ remove any seeding blossoms quickly.  When it goes to seed it tells the plant that the growth process is done and no new blooms are needed.  If you remove the blossoms before the process you will see an increase in blooms on that plant.

     The more quickly you remove, dead, diseased, broke, or dieing blooms the healthier your plant will be.

These everyday tips should help your plants grow healthier and happier.  If you have any questions please feel free contact us.

Stay tuned for our next installment in our house plant series.