Ask the Expert: Can you identify this plant? (weed) Picture enclosed, I hope, Thanks. Rufus

Plant Expert Reply:

The plant is called Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule). Members of the Lamium genus can run the gamut from annuls to perennials and from wanted to unwanted plants. In this case Henbit is usually considered a weed. It usually pops up in early spring in lawns, flower & shrub beds. In the lawn, you can spray 2 4 D to get rid of it. It is a little more tricky in the shrub beds because the 2 4 D will damage the shrubs and the flowers if the chemical gets on them. I recommend pulling the Henbit that is in the shrub, but would spray the Henbit that is in the lawn.

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This may sound strange to some, but I recently struggled alongside a friend who was having difficulty conceiving. She and her husband had anticipated children since the early stages of their relationship. However, her age and medical history made it a troublesome ordeal.

"Grace Under Pressure" Pink Roses Bouquet

It’s hard to watch a close friend go through something like that. I wanted to help her so we would stay up late talking and praying about the situation. One day she called me in tears because the stress finally became overwhelming. I racked my brain for some way to console her when it finally hit me.

I called up June, my local florist, and discussed an arrangement specifically for my friend. I relied on my guide of flower meanings (I use the FSN flower meanings reference) and found the perfect flowers to express what I wanted to say to her but couldn’t.

Though some of these were out of season, I discussed many flowers with my florist including apple blossom, azalea, peony, Queen Anne’s lace, pink roses, Star of Bethlehem, stephanotis, pink tulips, violets, and yarrow.

I chose apple blossom because it means “promise” and through many nights of prayer we were reminded of the Biblical story of Abraham and Sarah who also struggled with bearing a child. They were promised abundance and were blessed so I wanted apple blossom for encouragement. Azalea means “abundance” so this also seemed fitting of the promise.

I chose the rest of the flowers based on their significance in her life, particularly her struggle with medical issues and a need for peace of mind. The flower meanings of the rest discussed with June are:

• Peony “Healing”
• Queen Anne’s Lace “Delicate Femininity”
• Pink Roses “Friendship”
• Star of Bethlehem “Hope”
• Stephanotis “Good Luck”
• Pink Tulips “Caring”
• Violets (specifically blue violets)  “Faithfulness”
• Yarrow “Good Health”

And a year later a child arrived…

The flower bouquet had raised her spirits so much that I decided to send a new baby bouquet when her son was born. I again turned to the flower meanings guide and consulted my local florist, June, about using these flowers: Continue reading “Flower Meanings For Expectant Mothers & New Arrivals” »

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum clevelandii

Ask The Expert: I was give a peace lily for my husbands funeral last April.  This is very large plant. I have trouble keeping any house plant.  The leaves are dying and turning brown. I’ve tried leaving the light on in the kitchen because I thought it needed light.  I would just hate to loose this plant for many reasons.  Can you help me bring my poor peace lily back to a healthy life?
Thank you,
Nita

Plant Expert Reply:

I can understand why you want to keep this plant healthy and I will try my best to help you do so. If you haven’t removed the peace lily from the decorative foil the florist puts it in do so now. The foil won’t allow the peace lily to drain properly.

Knowing what the specific care needs for a particular plant is the first step in houseplant survival. Let’s see what kind of care peace lilies (Spathiphyluum clevelandii) need.

They need bright filtered light, but are tolerant to low light levels. They do not like bright sunlight shining down on their leaves — it will cause the leaves to burn.  So place your peace in a room that gets a fair amount of light, but do not place it directly in front of a window.

Peace lilies want an evenly moist environment. This means the soil should not dry out completely or reamin soggy.  Once a week watering is a good rule of thumb. When you water make sure the soak the water completely and that any excess water drains quickly and easily. You can perform an easy test to determine the water needs of your plant.

Test the soil before watering by sticking finger in soil up to first knuckle — this will help you determine if the plant needs water. If the soil feels moist don’t water. You can also pull a little bit of the soil out and perform the roll test.

Roll the soil into a ball:

• If you can squeeze wtaer easily out of the ball and you haven’t water in a while check the drainage. The plant may be too wet.
• If you can’t roll the soil into a ball, it is too wet.
• If you can roll soil into ball and it stays together but you can’t squeeze water out of it — then it is just fine.

Always water your peace lily with luke warm water and mist the air around the plant occasionally. Peace lilies are susceptible to chlorine damage; let chlorine evaporate from tap water before using or use distilled water. Over-watering may cause leaves to turn yellow and under-watering may cause plants to wilt and the leaf edges to turn yellow or brown.

Light and water are the most important plant care requirements. You can learn more about peace lily care on our peace lily page.

I also recommend trim off the damaged leaves.  Hopefully these tips will help you take care of your peace lily. Please keep me posted on your progress.

Flower Shop Network proudly sponsors this and all plant care questions.

Ask The Expert: Hello I have a quick lucky bamboo question for you if you have a second. I’ve had my lucky bamboo (two stalks) for about 4 years now and its grown very well up until this point (its currently about 4.5 feet tall). Last week I noticed that one lower leaf on each of the stalks was turning yellow. I ran it under some tap water for a bit and then hoped it would get better but those leave just became more yellow. Today i noticed that the more yellow of the two appeared to have some type of infection. there were brownish circular mold spots inside the leaf so to try and prevent it from spreading, I took an blade and carefully cut just those leaves from the stem. Unfotunitly, it looks as though I might have acted too late and now the other leaves are starting to get a little yellow as well. Any thoughts on how I might save it?

Thank you,
Katherine

Plant Expert Reply:

Your lucky bamboo seems to have some type of  leaf spot.  It could be Phyllosticta maculicola which is characterized by irregular small browish spot with yellish margins. It is spread by water. So, wetting the leaves will cause the damage to spread. Normally prevention is the best course of action. Remove infected leaves and don’t wet the foliage.  As long as the stem stay healthy you should be ok.

If the damaged areas are circular raised and reddish brown lesions with yellow halos, the lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) has been infected with Fusarium Leaf Spot (Fusarium moniliforme).  This is a fungus that may need to be treated with Daconil (a fungicide that you can get at your local garden center).  I still recommend removing the damaged leaves.

If you use scissors or a knife to remove the damaged leaves dip them in a solution of bleach and water between cuts.  Mix the solution at a 3 to 1 ratio — 3 parts water to 1 part bleach. This will keep the fungus from spreading as you remove the damaged leaves.

Flower Shop Network proudly sponsors this lucky bamboo question.

You don’t have to be a horticulturalist to appreciate the scientific names of flowers. With many flowers having common names that vary by region, it’s important to know which flower is being referenced. Test your knowledge of the scientific name for these 10 popular cut flowers with the flower quiz below. Careful though! Some may fool you.

*Note:  The scientific name refers to the genus of the cut flower only. *

To see how you did, Continue reading “Match Game: Scientific Names of Flowers” »

We are still bursting with excitement over our incredible weekend at the 2010 AIFD Southern Conference. The theme of the conference was all about eco-friendly and green floral solutions. Although you don’t have to use green to be green, many of the designers really embraced the theme and their arrangements were, in fact, green.

Since today is St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would compile some of the coolest green arrangements for your Paddy’s Day inspiration!

Continue reading “Green With Envy: Inspirations for St. Paddy’s Day” »

It’s that time again — PROM! Fancy dresses, perfect hair, jewelry, makeup, high-heels and beautiful flowers — when these are the essentials, you know it’s bound to be a good night! Mothers and daughters everywhere are planning big things for this year’s festivities.

For florists, however, prom can be a daunting task. Designing corsage after corsage with little guidance will really drain your creativity. The solution? A corsage bar! They are one of this prom season’s coolest trends.

A corsage bar is a buffet-style spread of all sorts of cool corsage accessories. Your prom-goers will be able to pick their “base design” and build their own unique corsage with whatever materials they choose.

Here is an example of the process:

• Have a few examples of basic corsage designs and let them pick their own flower types, flower colors, ribbons and maybe a few other basics for a base price.
• Have several trays and bowls set up on a table in different colors or styles to make it easy for color coding.
• Put all of your smallest trinkets into a red bowl, the bigger, more unique things on a blue tray. Lay feathers and wires on a green mat.
• Have a price guide based on your colored bowls and trays, so they can pick and choose what they want within their budget.

Example:

Package A: Base Design + 1 red bowl trinkets + 1 blue tray accessory + 1 green mat = $XX

Package B: Base Design + 3 red + 2 blue + 3 green = $XX

You get the idea.

• Price your pieces individually too. Everything in the red bowl is $X each. So I can get Package A with 3 extra red bowl accessories at ($ Package A) + 3 × ($ red bowl price) = AWESOME CUSTOM CORSAGE. [Sorry about the confusing math, if you have questions just ask!]
• Ask your floral supplies wholesaler what’s new or prowl through your local craft store and get everything you find that goes with this years look!

Don’t be afraid to suggest other accessories! Flowers to wear are a big trend this season! Use fresh or silk flowers on hair barrettes, necklaces, even on the straps of their shoes! Creating a flower ring out of wire and beads with flowers is super easy and a great add-on sale that the girls will really love!

A corsage bar is a great way to spark your creativity, as well as gain valuable interest in your shop. Make it an event by creating flyers to hang in local high schools. Facebook is another great way to publicize this awesome opportunity. Create an event page and invite students from local schools, parents you may know and your other florist friends to let everyone know what is happening in your shop.

Trust me, once students get a taste of creating their own floral designs, and parents experience having a little more control over the prom budget, everyone will be looking forward celebrating this year’s event in your flower shop! Start a tradition this year with your very own corsage bar!

“Going Green” for St. Patrick’s Day a few years ago meant little more than avoiding getting pinched and the occasional green beer. However, as floral aesthetics evolve and people are becoming more environmentally aware, “Going Green” can mean any number of things, meaning getting creative this St. Patrick’s Day is more fun than it has ever been! Going GREEN has never been easier!

A Brief History:

Before diving into the festivities on March 17, it might be helpful to know a little bit about St. Patrick and how his signature color and subsequent celebrations have become a world-wide phenomenon. The good news is, unlike many holidays, St. Patrick’s Day is based on a real person! Maewyn Succat was born into a rich family in fifth century Great Britain before being kidnapped by Irish raiders and made a slave. During that time, Succat converted to Christianity and escaped back to Great Britain, where he chose Patrick as his Christian name. He opened several schools along the west coast of Ireland and famously used a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to his students. After nearly 30 years of educating the Irish using shamrocks, Patrick passed away. Ireland then chose to commemorate his life with a holiday–St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t  the boisterous celebration it is today until the 1990s when Ireland chose to promote their culture around the world using the now-famous St. Patrick’s Day Festival. Prior to that, beginning the Middle Ages, St. Patrick’s Day was a one day reprieve from Lent, depending where the Holy Week landed each year. Observers were allowed to have a drink of ale on St. Patrick’s day, beginning a tradition and the association of the holiday with the drink. St. Patrick’s Day still remains a religious holiday for many; however, with the creation of the world-wide festival, parades and celebrations, St. Patrick’s Day has become a public celebration that is undoubtedly here to stay.

Going GREEN: Floral Edition

For the past few years, consumers and florists alike have been easing into the idea of an all-green arrangement. Today, many are taking the monochromatic look head-on and creating gorgeous, modern arrangements that are both memorable and classically chic. From weddings to everyday deliveries, versatile green arrangements possess a unique beauty that makes a statement in any instance.

And what is that statement?

Green arrangements can mean any number of things. They lend themselves perfectly to St. Patrick’s day, given not only their color, but common associations with green. Green floral arrangements are also ideal for celebrating the beginning of spring!

The Meaning of GREEN:

Although blue was the original color associated with St. Patrick’s Day, green was the obvious color chosen by many, due to the iconic use of the shamrock in the observance of the holiday. This is perfect for florists, because green can do double-duty for this time of year: celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the arrival of spring!

Words associated with green flowers include rejuvenation, health, youth and nature, making green arrangements an ideal choice for the season! Green flowers, with their diverse shapes and textures, are the perfect compliment to spring weddings, baby arrivals and graduations.  Strong associations between green and optimism make it possible to literally send a little happiness to someone who will appreciate a fun, unconventional arrangement.

Go GREEN with Mother Nature:

Given that the floral profession is directly intertwined with nature, it’s no surprise that florists are doing their part to preserve the earth’s beauty.  New techniques to become  a GREEN florist arrive daily, making this the hottest trend in the floral industry. Organic blooms, composting and using local florists and nurseries are just a few of the ways to to be responsible when collecting some of nature’s most  beautiful offerings.

Using local florists also allows you to choose from a region’s seasonal foliage, creating a unique Continue reading “‘Going Green’ for St. Patty’s Day Has Never Been Easier!” »

English Ivy

Ask The Expert: My husband bought me an English Ivy from the florist and said it is suppose to filter the air and rid your home of anything causing allergies. I don’t believe this, but wanted to ask. He said you are suppose to be able to get rid of your air purifier.
Please advise.
Lily Hampton

Plant Expert Reply:NASA scientists conducted a clean air study to find a solution to indoor pollution problems. English Ivy was one of the plants studied and it was found to help eliminate indoor pollutants.

English Ivy removes Formaldehyde, Benzene, and Carbon Monoxide which helps to purify the indoor air. So, in a sense it may help with allergies. However, it will not remove certain allergens like pollen, pet dander or dust.

Ask the Expert: What kind of plant is this?
Hi I want to buy some of these plants but I can’t find anywhere what they are called. Can you please take a look and tell me the name? I have always called them pipe cleaner plants and am having a horrible time finding them cause I don’t know their proper name. Thank you Raquel

Plant Expert Reply:
The plant is a Chenille plant (Acalypha hispida). Some people call it a red-hot cat’s tail plant. It is often used as a houseplant.