Ask the Expert: may have old world daylily
plant foliage comes up in spring looks similar to daffodil but larger. leaves die back during july. after leaves die back stem grows out of ground to the height of 3 ft. each stem produces lily like flowers 6 to each stem at the top of the stem in a circle.  color white at edges pink at center, 6 petals to each flower delicate daylily look.if you may have a clue let me know i will give more info. Donna

Plant Expert Reply:

Surprise Lily (Lycoris squamigera)

I believe you have, what we call in the mid-south, a surprise lily.  So named because it seems overnight to pop up a bloom stalk with blooms and no appearance of leaves.  Surprise lilies (Lycoris squamigera) are sometimes called naked lily, resurrection lily, magic lily, mystery lily, hardy amaryllis, or Guernsey lily.  They come from a bulb and can be planted right under sod.

Nerine Bowdenii Spider Lily

Another possibility is the Spider Lily (Nerine bowdenii) which is in the same family (Amaryllidaceae )  as Lycoris.

In fact, the common names for each are often assigned to the other one as well.  For example Nerine is sometimes called surprise lily, Guernsey lily and are produced from a bulb just like Lycoris.

Each type of lily comes in a range of colors from white to purple and even a reddish color. They like full sun to partial shade, but full sun produces the best blooming.  Once planted they will come up year after year without much care.

In my area, we call this a homestead plant.  Many old homesteads have this flowering blooming in their yards.

For more information about the Lycoris squamigera, check out Floridata surprise lily page.

For more information about the Nerine bowdenii, check out Pacific Bulb Society Nerine page.

If your flower looks different, sned me a picture and we will try to make a different idetification.

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Pardon the off-key singing, but I feel that it’s finally time to discuss birthday enclosure card messages. That’s right. Those pretty little cards attached to arrangements of flowers from local florists. What makes birthday card messages so special? Why everything of course! Many people even keep the enclosure card in a scrapbook long after the day has passed. You’ve gone the extra mile to send flowers. You’ve gone above and beyond to make the birthday boy or girl feel like royalty for a day. The memories are made by what is said and done on that day. What do you want your card message to say?

For most people, sending birthday flower arrangements is the easy part. It is composing the perfect enclosure card message for birthday flowers that is baffling. Trying to be funny? Want something so sweet it rots the teeth? Need quick and simple but sincere? This is where birthday card messages from local florists come in handy. As it just so happens, here is a list of the top 30 birthday card messages as compiled by local florists. When sending flowers this year, make it the most memorable gift of the day with one of these enclosure card messages.

Wacky Happy Weepy Laughy Birthday Card Messages For All

1)       (Funny) 29 again? Talk about recycling! Happy Birthday

2)       May God grant you a day filled with happiness, a year filled with joy.

3)       Today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. You deserve a lifetime of beautiful tomorrows. Happy Birthday.

4)       (Funny) Another birthday? Before you start feeling old and depressed, just keep this in mind: I have pantyhose older than you!

5)       (Funny) Another birthday? Why it seems only yesterday you were a whole year younger! Happy Birthday.

6)       (Funny) Another candle on your cake? That is no cause to pout. Be glad that you still have the strength to blow the things out.

7)       (Funny) At birthday time, it’s good to remember our friends. Actually, it’s good to remember anything!

8)       Because you’re you I’m celebrating today! Happy Birthday

9)       Count not your years by adding the days but with joy count the friends you’ve made on the way. Wishing you a year of joy and friendship.

10)   (Funny) Don’t do anything embarrassing on your birthday this year. You don’t have as much time to live it down as you used to.

11)   (Funny) Don’t worry about those unsightly sagging varicose veins. Wear a mini skirt and tell people they’re net hose.

12)   (Funny) Don’t worry sister, you’re not getting older just more like mom.

13)   For your birthday, I wanted to get you the thing you need most but how do you gift-wrap a 25-hour day? Happy Birthday

14)   Friends in the Lord are always close at heart. I’m so glad God brought us together as friends. Happy Birthday

15)   Go ahead and have another birthday if you want to. But don’t expect me to keep up with you. Happy Birthday.

You’re only halfway through! Find more birthday enclosure card messages brought to you proudly by FlowerShopNetwork.com.

Much like claiming your Google Local or Bing Local listing, claiming your Yahoo! Local listing is an excellent way to promote your shop. Best of all–it’s free. To help you claim your shop’s listing, Flower Shop Network has created this step-by-step visual guide and tutorial to registering and claiming a Yahoo! Local listing.

**Note: You will need a Yahoo! account to claim your Yahoo! Local listing. If you do not have one, skip to the section titled “Create Your Yahoo! Account” for more information. **

How To Claim Your Yahoo! Local Listing

The first step in claiming your shop’s Yahoo! Local listing is to visit the Yahoo! Local Listings Account Center. You will see three boxes with different listing options. Ignore them. The fastest and easiest way to begin claiming your listing is to click the large yellow “sign up” button in the top right section of the page.

Clicking “sign up” will take you to the login screen of Yahoo! Accounts if you are not currently signed into your account. Log-in as normal. This will take you to the first of four screens. (A progress bar at the top of the screen will report your position through the four screens.)

Once you are on the first information page, you will be asked to list your shop’s information in the following sections:  account contact information, location information, hours of operation, payment methods you accept, and additional information. You will have the opportunity to view and edit this information before the final submission is complete.

If any similar listings are in the Yahoo! Local system, you will be asked to specify whether you would like to edit an existing listing or add your own. If the existing listing is very similar (same or old physical address) choose to edit the existing listing. Click the photo at left to see what this notification will look like.

Account Contact Information — this section asks for your first name, last name, email and phone number. These four items are required to proceed. However, this information will NOT appear in your listing. This information is not sold to third party companies. This information is used to personalize your account. For example, you will see “welcome *your name*” when you enter your account.

Listing Information — this section asks for your business name, local phone number, address (physical not P.O. Box), city, state, 5 digit zip code, your primary website address, toll-free phone number if applicable, fax, company email, and additional phone numbers. There is a box at the bottom of this section that allows you to opt out of displaying this information on your listing. However, business name, local phone, address, city, state and zip are required to proceed.

Hours of Operation — this section asks for your shop’s operating hours. If your shop is open 24 hours, click the round button that says “Open 24 hours.” You may also choose the “use operating hours below” and tailor the hours listed to your shop. If you do not wish to display your operating hours, click the round button that says “Do not display operating hours.” There is a box at the right of this section that allows you to put any additional information regarding your hours. For example, “available by appointment” or “closed all major holidays.”

Payment Methods You Accept — here you will list the forms of payment that you accept. There are several credit card options, a debit card option, a box for personal checks as well as a “cash only” option. You are allowed to check as many of these boxes as needed.

Additional Information — Here you will be able to enter information such as the year your company was established, any additional services that you offer (e.g. funeral flowers, wedding flowers, specialities), languages spoken, brand names carried (great for your unique gift selection), professional associations (such as Flower Shop Network or your local state Florists’ Association), and any specials that you are currently running.

Click “continue” at the bottom of the screen to proceed to screen number two. Screen number two asks you to categorize your business. This is where you would select the closest match from the drop down menu. Need suggestions? Click the “need suggestions” link beside the subcategory box. Subcategories are not required but are helpful.

Click “continue” at the bottom of the screen to proceed to screen number three. Screen number three asks you to preview your listing and verify that the information show is accurate. You may edit the information if anything is inaccurate by clicking the highlighted word “edits” from the sentence reading “Please review your listing and make any final edits to your business information before clicking the Submit button.” If the information is correct, click “submit” at the bottom of the page.

The final screen will ask you to confirm your listing. This will ask you to fill out a captcha. Captchas are a series of stylized letters and/or numbers that you must enter into a box. This tells Yahoo! that you are a real person and not a computer spamming this information as computers cannot read the letters the way a human can.

You will also be asked to read and agree to the Terms of Service. This is a requirement before submitting your listing. Once you have done this, simply click “submit”. You will be taken to a confirmation screen that lets you know that Yahoo! Local has received and will review your listing in 3-5 business days. That’s it! You’re done!

Creating A Yahoo! Account

The first step in creating a Yahoo! Local account is to visit the Yahoo Accounts log in screen. There is a large log-in box on the right side of the screen.

At the bottom of this box is the option to sign up for a Yahoo! account. Click the highlighted “sign up” link.You will be taken to a new screen where you will enter the information for your

You may also access the Yahoo! accounts log-in screen from the Yahoo! home page. Simply visit the home page and click the “sign up” link under the search bar. Click on the picture at the left to see the exact position of the link circled in red. You will be taken to a new screen where you will enter the information for your Yahoo! Local account.

The next screen asks you to enter information about yourself or your shop into three sections. The first section asks for personal information such as name, birthday, gender, country of residence and your postal code. All of this information is required.

Your birthday is required only to make sure that you are above a certain age (13 years or over is the minimum legal limit). Your gender will not affect your listing or your account. It is for records only. Your postal code affects your personal Yahoo! Local results as the Yahoo! Local system will associate that zip code with any personalized results it sends to you.

The second section on this screen asks you to select a Yahoo! ID that will become the first part of your new email address. You will also be asked to select a password and re-enter it to make sure that everything is typed correctly. Click “check” next to the email section to make sure that your email address will be available. If not, choose a new selection and recheck it until you find an available email address. You do not have to put “@yahoo.com” into the first field because Yahoo! automatically makes this selection for you.

The third screen asks for an alternate email, security question and an answer to that question. This information is used in the event that you forget your password or log-in. You will also be asked to solve a captcha.  A captcha is a series of stylized letters and/or numbers that you must enter into the box provided. This confirms to Yahoo! that you are a real person as computers are unable to read the captcha and automatically fill out the form.

Also, make sure that you click “I agree” to the terms and services of the agreement. This is a small box beneath the captcha section.

Click “create my account” and you’re ready to go!

Ask the Expert: Will my peace lily come back to life?

Peace lily

Ok so i went on vacation about a month ago and i was gone for 2 weeks. Well my air conditioning went out in my house and my peace lily was dead when i got home. All of the leaves were dried up and black. So i cut them all off and watered the plant and left the plant alone for a month now. It looked like new growth was trying to come through and then they turn black on the tips! So now after reading about root rot i decited to take the plant out of its plastic pot that has holes on the bottom and clean the pot out. At the moment i dont have a different pot to put it in so this one will have to do for now. The roots are blackish brown color i dont know if i did the right thing but i just kinda picked at the roots to see if i could see some better looking roots and there was a few but i had just got done watering the plant and it was soaking wet. I think it was over watered now that i have read the proper way to water. So i filled the bottom of the pot with new soil and put the plant in the pot and filled around the sides. I pulled all the dead dried looking stalkes so that all that was left was green. This is what it looks like now. Do u think it will come back? Can root rot be treated in any way? Amanda

Plant Expert Reply:

I see some potential for recovery. The fact that you have a few areas of green left means the plant is still viable. However, it does sound as if you have a root rot problem.  Black, mushy roots or a pungent odor from the roots all indications of root rot. Foliage that is declining is also a sign of root rot.

Your plant can recover but you will need to take care of a few things first. Remove as many of the damaged roots as possible.  Do this by removing the plant from the pot and cut away the damaged roots.  If your plastic pot doesn’t have drain holes, make a few in the bottom of the pot before you place the plant back in it.  At this point we only want moist but not soggy soil.  In a few weeks the plant should start to show signs of new growth.

Good luck and keep me posted.

Passover Flowers

The new Passover holiday page is available immediately to FSN members using our florist ecommerce websites. FSN members that have purchased Advanced Website Controls can turn on and edit the Passover page by accessing website controls inside FSNF2F.com.

If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you’ve ever been on a nature walk in North Dakota, you’ve probably run across the Wild Prairie Rose and didn’t even know it. It’s a gorgeous flower with 5 bright pink petals and a tight cluster of yellow stamens at the center. The Wild Prairie Rose (Rosa arkansana or Rosa blanda) grows along roadsides, near streams, in pastures and in meadows. With a prevalence and beauty unparalleled by other native North Dakota flowers, the Wild Prairie Rose has been the North Dakota state flower for over one hundred years.

Photo courtesy 50states.com

Though you probably weren’t around in 1907, the awe-inspiring Wild Prairie Rose has maintained its unique appeal for all of these years. Its charm never fades because it is instantly attractive. Its pink flowers help it pop next to wild grasses and other flora across the state. A nature walk is a chance to experience so much richness and natural beauty. Even in the midst of this often overwhelming experience, the Wild Prairie Rose is a diamond in the rough, unashamedly capturing attention but allowing viewers to revel in its beauty.

North Dakota florists are lucky. They do not have to travel far to enjoy the Wild Prairie Rose. It’s title as the North Dakota state flower may not mean much to a local florist, but it doesn’t have to. The Wild Prairie Rose has a reputation all its own and is beautiful enough to be momentarily captivating despite any title.

Hanukkah Flowers - Florist eCommerce Page

A new holiday page is now available to users of the Flower Shop Network ecommerce websites. A screenshot of the new page is listed below.

The new Hanukkah holiday page is available immediately to FSN members using our florist ecommerce websites. FSN members that have purchased Advanced Website Controls can turn on and edit the Hanukkah page by accessing website controls inside FSNF2F.com.

If you have questions or would like to provide feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Chinese Valentine’s Day is actually very cool. They do not regard their form of the holiday in the same way as we western hemispherians. (*grin*) It’s still a neat holiday for lovers and I’ll tell you why. But first! — a little Chinese Valentine’s Day history for you history buffs.

The History of Chinese Valentine’s Day

Chinese Valentine’s Day falls on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar. For those playing along at home, that’s August 26, 2009. The traditional story is a love story told of two star-crossed lovers (a droll joke, or so you’ll later learn). One is the 7th daughter of the Emperor of Heaven. Her love interest is an orphaned cowherd. A true “he’s from the wrong side of the tracks” story or a pasture in this case.

Anyway, the emperor couldn’t stand the thought of them together so he decided to banish them to stars far away. He sent his daughter to the star Vega and the cowherd to the star Altair. Being a somewhat benevolent father, he decided to allow them to see each other once a year. You can probably see where this is going. That day–now celebrated as Chinese Valentine’s Day–is the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar Chinese lunar calendar. You can almost hear the a-ha’s.

Modern Celebration of Chinese Valentine’s Day

Chinese girls and women do not take their dates for a night out and expect an armful of chocolates and flowers. Instead, they all visit a matchmaker in hopes that doing so will provide blessings for their future relationships. Couples in love also go to the matchmaker to ask for blessings on their relationship. There are several other interesting traditions but the one that really caught my eye for obvious reasons is how the young ladies use flowers.

They decorate the ox’s horn with flowers in hopes of preventing future disasters in their relationships. My only question now is where do I find a PETA approved Ox horn and a bucket full of flowers?

How Florists Help Celebrate Chinese Valentine’s Day

Lovers may not be visiting their florist for love advice on this day but that doesn’t mean that florists can’t help lovers find a way to share their affection. In fact, the westernization of many traditional celebrations puts them in the starting line-up! Aside from the crazies like me muttering something about “flowers for my ox horn”, you can still give fun gifts from the local flower shop to your lover on this day.

If you are a Chinese-American or just one who likes to celebrate random holidays (and I do!), this is a fun occasion for gift giving. Surprise your date with a bouquet of flowers as you leave to see “the matchmaker” in your life. A cute little twist would be to send flowers with an enclosure card that reads “for your ox horn”. Now off to my local florist for a gift for the most non-traditional traditional holiday I’ve ever heard of!

Pets And Houseplants - Achieving Compatibility

If you share your home with dogs or cats, keeping them safe and happy is often your primary concern. At the same time, having interior foliage really makes a house a home. Many houseplants actually improve air quality and create a healthy environment for you.

Although houseplants are pretty and help improve your life, they can sometimes pose a serious issue for your beloved pets. According of the Humane Society of the US there are 700 identified plants that have “toxic” qualities that can cause harmful side effects in animals. Does this mean you have to chose between living with your beloved pet or an awesome houseplant? NO! It doesn’t. By taking certain steps and knowing which houseplants are dangerous to your cat or dog, you can create a pet safe home that includes beautiful foliage.

Keeping Your Pets and Your Houseplants

Before you throw out all your houseplants for the sake of your kitten or puppy, take time to consider whether you’re dog or cat can live with your plants. Some dogs and cats never touch houseplants while others can’t leave them alone. You can still enjoy these plants, even ones potentially “toxic” to pets.

You can protect your pet by taking a few preventative steps. Place plants on stands or hang them out of your dog’s reach. This can work with cats as well. However with cats, the plant must be placed so that your kitty can’t climb up to or jump on to the hanging plant. Otherwise, all questionable plants will need to be placed in a room unavailable to the cat.

If you receive a new plant as a gift, take time to see if your pet is even interested in it. Most cats and dogs simply ignore houseplants and leave them alone. Kittens and puppies are a bit different. They are extremely curious and will chew or play with just about anything. If you have a puppy take time to train them to leave the houseplants alone. Spritzing them with water when they get near the plant is usually a sufficient deterrent. With kittens it’s a bit harder to train them; you may have to put the plants out of the kittens reach.

If you’re still leery about exposing your pet to houseplants, select

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Schefflera

Octopus Plant

I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of plant this is so that I can look up more information on the care of this plant. Thank you. Tammy

Plant Expert Reply:
This plant goes by many names Brassia arboricola, arboricola, schefflera, octopus plant and umbrella plant. We have great schefflera care instructions for this plant in our flower gallery.