Ask the Expert: Lucky Bamboo Plants

Roots were coming out of small container.  I moved the plant into next size.  Filled with black river rocks and pebbles as suggested.  Leaves are now turning a little yellow at the bottom.  I am using distilled water but within 2 days, the water on the rocks is stagnate, slippery, and has a smell.

Please Help!

Ask The Expert

I have a bit of an emergency. I don’t have a green thumb. My wife is out of the country for a month and she has several lucky bamboo plants in vases. There’s one in particular (the twisted set) that needs intensive care due to leaf discolorations and the plants itself doesn’t look healthy. I change water everyday because it smells (stinks) and the roots

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Ask the Expert: Peace lily question

I made a big mistake when feeding my peace lily. I used full strength Miracle-Gro liquid all purpose plant food watering can type without diluting it and three days later the leaves are starting to shrivel up and dry out. The plant has wilted, even watering it didn’t seem to help. Any suggestions on bringing it back to life?

I thought it might be interesting to discuss floral design terms every so often. Today I thought we would discuss the term Tussie-Mussie or Tussy-Mussy.

A Tussie Mussie is a style of bouquet often associated with the Victorian Era. This bouquet is composed of a small compact cluster of flowers or herbs. The stems are bound to create a round bouquet. When fashioned this way the bouquet can be hand held as a bridal bouquets or as an easy way to give flowers to someone who can then drop the bouquet in a vase they already have.

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Yesterday my neighbor called to ask me what I thought about sending a fireside basket to a funeral. She explained that an old high school friend passed away recently and she and some other friends sent sympathy flowers to the service held in another state. She explained that one of the ladies in her group handled all the arrangements. My neighbor received a thank you card for the fireside basket that was sent. She was concerned because she didn’t know what a fireside basket was and that it might not be appropriate for a funeral service.

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Yesterday was my birthday and I received many lovely flowers and gifts over the course of the weekend. I have one friend in particular who believes every birthday present should truly represent the day. One year she got me a birthday newspaper — a copy of the New York Times on the day I was born. This year she gave me a beautiful larkspur flower arrangement. Larkspur (Consolida ajacis) is the birth month flower for July.

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July is the month of my birth. As my birthday approaches, I think back to when I was a kid and how enthralled I was with astrology. My birthday is July 22nd and is what they call on the cusp — meaning the changing from one astrological sign to another. My zodiac sign is Cancer and the day after my birthday the zodiac sign is Leo. I thought it would be interesting to see what flowers are associated with my astrological sign.

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My friend in Colorado emailed me today about her hiking trip. She described all the beautiful wild flowers she saw. It seems wild flowers are on everyone’s mind. The past week every newscast mentioned the passing of Lady Bird Johnson. Of course when you mention Lady Bird you must also mention her passion for wild flowers and the wild flower

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Once again, Flower Shop Network was in attendence at the 2007 Texas State Florist Association Convention. The convention was held at the Palmer Event Center in Austin, Texas on July 13-15, 2007. We saw many new faces this year as both current Flower Shop Network members and other retail florists visited the FSN booth to find out about the floral industry products and services provided by Flower Shop Network. Florists registered for the drawings by leaving a business card at the FSN booth or by filling out a registration card. The convention drawing was held after Flower Shop Network staff returned to the office after the Texas State convention - here are your winners:

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Ask the Expert: Can you identify this flower for me?

My wife and I planted these a few years ago, and can not remember what they are called. Can you help me out?

Bill

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