This is one flower sending tip that you won’t want to be without. Florists run across an issue often when they are asked to create an arrangement based on something seen in a magazine, on a floral website, or a wire service design gallery. Because availability varies by region and other factors, it is important to have your second choice in mind when ordering flowers.

Small Changes, Not A Different Flower Arrangement

Having a second choice is not what it seems to be. This does not mean giving up what you want in favor of a completely different arrangement. This can be something as simple as selecting pink roses if red roses are not available. It could also mean selecting a different type of flower that closely resembles one used in the bouquet.

Keep Color Options In Mind

Most flowers come in a variety of colors. Each variegated species has its own unique appearance. Though you do not have to know the species name of each flower, keep in mind which colors you would like to see in the arrangement. Note this when sending flowers through a local florist. Knowing that green and yellow are preferred (or whichever) is very helpful information when floral designers need to make substitutes.

Keep Flower Substitutes In Mind

Is your wife highly allergic to a particular flower? Does your husband love a certain flower? Let your florist know! He or she will better able to tailor your arrangement to your specific needs if s/he knows which flowers are preferred/off limits/acceptable. Also, note whether substitutions will be acceptable if the flowers are not available. It may be something as simple as filler flower changes, but it will get your flowers out the door faster and spare a lot of people the hassle of multiple phone calls.

People often say that what goes around comes around, and at Flower Shop Network we certainly believe that to be true! That means Bice’s Florist, a Fort Worth Texas flower shop, can certainly be expecting good things in their future. Why? Because Bice’s Florist recently “gave back” by presenting two local high school students with $500 grants for college costs. Any college student or graduate can easily recognize the generosity behind this pay-it-forward investment into the future of Fort Worth’s deserving students.

Janice Kane, executive director of the Grapevine Colleyville Education Foundation said, “We are blessed and appreciative to have community businesses, such as Bice’s, that see the importance of stepping up in support of our young people.” All of us at Flower Shop Network couldn’t agree more and are happy to report that Bice’s Florist gets an A+ for doing just that!

Thankfully for future students in Fort Worth, Bice’s Florist will continue to grant scholarships each year to local graduating seniors who have displayed outstanding academic performance and commitment to community service–something Bice’s Florist knows all about. That’s why we are so eager to recognize and applaud Bice’s Florist for their investment in the future of their city. Thank you Bice’s!

Ask The Expert: I read your info on the peace lily.  I have one that is 3 years old.  It was in bloom when I received it, but it hasn’t blossomed since then.  It has nice green leaves and looks very healthy.  What can I do to make it blossom?  Thank you.  Barbara

Plant Expert Reply:

Making Peace lilies bloom is a million dollar question. Naturally peace lilies bloom in the spring and early summer initiated by the short day/long night photoperiod of December and January.  This means that one of the factors for peace lily blooms is light.  In other words, it needs seasonal change to induce blooming.  In this case, you could create this artificially by shorten the amount of light the plant receives.  However, light is not the only factor.  Temperature can also contribute to blooming.  A few weeks kept at a slightly lower temperature and in conjunction with the photoperiod can produce blooms.

Another monkey wrench is the development of peace lilies over the course of time. Over the years growers have produced different peace lily cultivars to achieve different goals.  As a result, some peace lily cultivars bloom more and some rarely.  So your lack of blooming could be the type of peace lily you have and not necessarily an environmental issue.

How the professional peace lily growers do it

The growers take a chemical approach to peace lily bloom production.  They stimulate blooming by applying Gibberellic acid (GA₃ ) - a naturally occuring plant hormone.  This hormone initiates the peace to produce blooms.

I don’t think GA3 is available to consumers, so your best option is to try the light and the temperature variations.

Good Luck and keep me posted.

When someone goes out of their way to satisfy their customer’s orders, you know you’re placing your order at the right shop! The shop I’m referring to is none other than Estella Flower Shop located in Harlingen, TX. To Estella, designing a floral arrangement is more than throwing a few fresh flowers together. Instead every floral arrangement is an opportunity to create a work of art. She listens to the customer and the emotions they are trying to convey with this arrangement. Estella then selects flowers and a design that will create the perfect bouquet for them.

I absolutely admire someone who has so much passion and love for what they do on an everyday basis. Many positive testimonials prove that Estella is very kind and willing to go out of her way to help people. And I realize why; there is nothing more important to her than 100 % customer satisfaction. I personally spoke with Estella one day setting her up with one of our services here at Flower Shop Network. She took some time to really listen and was very patient as I was explaining to her about this technical service. She was very polite and understanding which is something I really do appreciate when I call florists regarding this service. I understand why a lot of her customers enjoy her and want to come back for more!

Serving the Harlingen area for over 25 years, having a lot of experience, it’s no wonder why many people choose Estella Flower Shop to be their florist. It’s obvious Estella’s success comes from being such a helpful and caring florist. From wedding arrangements to great gift choices and funeral flowers to just a simple flower arrangement, Estella Flower Shop is definitely the place to call!

Ask the Expert: Peace Lily pot
I recently bought a mature Peace Lily and repotted it into a “self-watering” pot, which is filled from the bottom & you can see how much water is in there.  I’m wondering if this type of pot is okay for Peace Lilies, or is it better to water them from the top?  Also, should the reservoir be kept full, or allowed to dry up?  Is it possible to over-water with this type of pot?  What about those “Aqua Bulb” things shown on TV lately (you fill the bulb with water, stick it in the soil, and supposedly they release the right amount of water to the plant based on how much oxygen the soil releases)– do they work, and do you recommend them? Dawn

Plant Expert Reply:

I’m an old-fashioned kind of plant watering gal.  For me the best peace lily method is the tried and true watering from the top.  See peace lilies want a evenly moist soil that does not dry out but doesn’t leave them soggy either.

I haven’t had any experience with self watering pots.  So they could be the next best thing to sliced white bread.  However for most plants if the roots stay soggy, the plant could develop root rot.  Depending on the design of the self-watering container this could or could not be a problem.  If I was going to use a self-watering pot, I would make sure that the soil was moist from the top to the bottom to begin with and then monitor the soil moist for a couple weeks to see how effect these containers are.

I am familiar with the “Aqua Bulb” principle.  We sell a decorative blown glass watering bulb at our garden center.  I find these mostly useful as a vacation watering method.  They slowly drip water as the soil becomes dry, so I don’t worry about over watering. On the other hand with these you could be under watering the plant.  Again if you use them make sure the soil is moist from top to bottom before you use these as your watering devise. You will still need to monitor your peace lily occasionally to make sure the soil is properly hydrated.

The key to any of these methods is monitor your soil moisture and adjusting accordingly.

Good luck and keep me posted.

Ask the Expert: How do I get rid of the mildew on my lucky bamboo?
Help! I have found white powder on my lucky bamboo. I have had this plant for over 4 years now and this is it’s first problem. From my web searches, I found out that it is mildew. None of the sites really have told me how to get rid of it on lucky bamboo.
Thanks! Vienna

Plant Expert Reply:
It depends on what you are calling mildew.

If you have an algae build up in the water or around the roots of the lucky bamboo, you need to clean the container and any pebbles with soapy water and wipe off the roots and the stalks with a moist cloth and refill the container.

If you have lesions on the stalk, you will need to remove the lesions. In this case you may need to create new stalks from the top of the stalk. You might want to read this lucky bamboo post, it details how to remove diseased parts of lucky bamboo.

If you have white cottony substance on the stalks, it could actually be an insect called scale.  You can wipe this insect off and clean the container as a method of control.  If the scale persists, use an insecticide that is safe for houseplants.

If you have a type of fungus that is rust or sooty in color, we have a whole other ballgame.   These would need to be treated with a fungicide.  The hardest part is finding a fungicide safe for Dracaena.  You could try daconil. It is a general purpose fungicide.

If you are not sure what type of  “mildew” your lucky bamboo has, send me a picture.  I’ll be happy to help any way I can.

Please keep me posted.

When it’s time to shop for a birthday gift for a Leo, strike “trip to the mall” off of the list. Instead, call your local florist and ask about zodiac flowers for a Leo. This is a unique gift that they probably aren’t going to get twice. The creativity of zodiac flower arrangements shows that you’re paying attention to the birthday boy or girl and really wanted to go the extra mile for a cool gift this year. Well you did! At least, you will have when you contact your local florist and talk about zodiac flowers in a birthday bouquet.

So what flowers qualify as Leo zodiac flowers and astrological flowers? Here are the most popular blooms for Leos:

Orange Carnations Are Always Fun!

• Carnations (yay!!!)
• Amaranthus
• Peonies
• Anthuriums
• Cacti
• Sunflowers
• Venus Fly Trap (though you’ll have to go farther than your local florist to find this TRULY unique gift)

So when it comes to shopping around for a birthday gift for your loveable Leo, look to your local florist. They have just what you need this year — zodiac flowers!

Once again Flower Shop Network is booming with excitement. Why? Because The Networker’s summer edition is available! Florists–check your mail this week because the summer 2009 edition of The Networker should be hitting your mailbox soon. If you would like to view The Networker (.pdf file), feel free! Here’s some of what you’ll find in The Networker this time:

• News about the enhanced FSNf2f.com sites
• Tips for increasing summer sales
• Cost-effective tips for promoting wedding flowers
• Much more!

We know you’ll love FSN Networker Summer 2009 and hope to find your comments here shortly!

Ask the Expert: Wholesale Poinsettias in Houston Area
Our high school drill team would like to sell good quality (large) poinsettias as a fundraiser.  Do you have any referrals in the Houston, TX area? Melissa

Plant Expert Reply:
Poinsettias make wonderful gifts and are an awesome way to raise money.  In fact, I know a grower in Van Buren Arkansas called Parks Brothers Farms who has a fantastic fundraising program. They provide poinsettias for non-profit fundraising in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, North Texas, Eastern Kansas, Western Tennessee and Missouri.  I called Jason at Parks Brothers Farms and he assured me that they could, also, provide the poinsettias for your school fundraiser in Houston.

I assume you will want red poinsettias which are a traditional and popular choice.  However, you might want to consider some of the other poinsettia color options like pink, white, burgundy and marble. Parks Brothers Farms will help you decide what the best poinsettia options are for the Houston area.  So check out their non-profit fundraising page or call Jason at toll-free: (800) 334-5770.

Let me know how your fundraising goes.

Ask the Expert: I recently acquired a peace lily from my brother’s funeral. I would like to know how to prone the plant once a flower blossom dies. I want to keep the plant looking nice. Your care instructions doesn’t say where to cut the flower off at. Or do I just leave it alone and let the stem die too and then pull stem and all out at once. Thank you.    Grace

Plant Expert Reply:

You can leave the stalk and let it die-back on its own, but that makes the plant unsightly.  Follow the stalk to the base of the plant and snip it off.  Removing the spent flowers will keep the plant attractive.  To keep the plant healthy remove the florists wrapping and make sure it is a pot that will allow the plant to drain.  Then keep the plant moist but not soggy.