Archives for June 2010

Where To Find Information About Houseplants

June 30, 2010 by Jamie Jamison Adams Leave a Comment

Ask the Expert: please list me the names of the indoor plants please list me the names of few indoor plants which are safe and also the names of few indoor flowering plants and tips to take care of them. Prakriti

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert:
There are numerous plants that can be cultivated indoors and considered houseplants. Flower Shop Network has a gallery of houseplant pictures. In this gallery, you can find typical houseplants, blooming plants and tropical plants. Every plant has its own page in the gallery where you can find care instructions and other information about the plant. For example, you can go to the houseplant page and find a picture of a Peace Lily. When you click on the Peace Lily picture, it will take you to the peace lily page where light, fertilizer, and water requirements are listed along with other information about peace lilies.

I’m not sure what you mean by safe plant. Our 10 Houseplants Poisonous To Dogs, Cats, or Children post has pictures of houseplants and information about their toxicity.

I hope this information helps.

Filed Under: Plant Identification Tagged With: Houseplants, Poisonous Plants

Upcoming Show: AIFD National Symposium in Boston, MA

June 30, 2010 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Pack your bags, it’s almost here! The floral industry’s most premiere show — the AIFD’s National Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts.

An incredible event, the week starts with an amazing fireworks display over the Boston Harbor, and continues with a host of interesting and informative presentations by the industries leading florists. The lineup this year is truly astounding! With guests like Michael O’Neill, Ty Leslie, BJ Dyer, and many, many others, even the most seasoned florist will bring home a wealth of new ideas and plenty of inspiration.

Find more about the AIFD National Symposium…

Flower Shop Network WILL be there! Our social networking ladies, Mandy and Ashley will be on location Tweeting and Facebooking from the event! You can follow us and everyone tweeting from the event on the #AIFD hashtag page! Add it to your bookmarks! It’s almost like being there! …. okay, not exactly…

In the days following the event, keep an eye on our blog and Facebook to see all of our amazing photos, videos, interviews and more!

Need a little inspiration to hold you over til the 4th? Check out FSN at the AIFD Southern Conference…

Filed Under: Floral Conventions & Flower Shows Tagged With: AIFD National Symposium, Floral & Flower Shows, show

7 Great Ways To Keep Up With Trends

June 30, 2010 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

In this fast-paced world, it can be hard to keep up with the latest and greatest floral design trends. Here are 7 easy ways to keep up with the latest in the floral design industry.

1. Attend Design & Trade Shows -Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like attending a design or trade show. Being in the presence of industry leaders and talented designers you are sure to bring home tons of new ideas.
2. Follow Industry Leaders on Social Sites – Are you into social networking? So are you favorite florists and others involved in floral design! Flower Shop Network on Facebook is a great example of a Facebook Page every florist should follow. We update our page daily with great tips, ideas, pics and even videos. (Our design videos on YouTube are a good way to learn new techniques from expert florists!) Other great Facebook Pages to follow are: AIFD Group, SAF Page or check out Flower Shop Network’s Favorite Pages for more.
3. Attend Workshops & Educational Classes – Just like with any type of art and design, the styles are constantly changing. A floral design class or workshop is a great way to stay in touch with the latest trends in the industry. Floral design schools, universities and even conferences can be a great place to look for floral design classes. Most of these workshops you can finish in a weekend, but you’ll return with a lifetime of new design ideas!
4. Subscribe to Floral Magazines – An easy way to stay up to date with trends is by subscribing to floral design magazines. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Florists Only Tagged With: Floral Design, Flower Shop Network, Tips & Tricks, Trends

What Is Eating My Pothos And Leaving Me A Nasty Present

June 29, 2010 by Jamie Jamison Adams Leave a Comment

Ask the Expert: Bugs
I have a huge Pothos Ivy plant on a trellis and it is outside on porch in shady area. Well it seems to be infested with something that can eat the whole leaf off or half of it and it leaves behind black poop or appears to be poop about half the size of mouse poop,the poop is also all around the plant on the porch and on the plant leaves.I have no idea what this is and never saw anything like it, one day after messing with my plants I did have a catapillar on me but I dont know if catapillars do this. I also dont know what I can safely use on this kind of plant to get rid of them. I do have some seven dust spray will this harm a pothos Ivy. Thank you for your time, Patricia

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert:
You have some type of caterpillar. To get rid of the caterpillar use a houseplant spray. Your local garden center should have one that is safe for pothos.

Filed Under: Insect Identification Tagged With: Insect Identification, Pothos

Propagating Chocolate Soldier Plant

June 29, 2010 by Jamie Jamison Adams 11 Comments

Ask the Expert: How do you propagate a chocolate soldier plant? I have tried water. Dolores

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert:

Chocolate Soldier is the common name for Episcia cupreata. It can be propagated in the following ways:

1. From Seed
2. By Division
3. By Rooting Stem Cuttings
4. Layering

My favorite form of propagation is rooting stem cuttings. To propagate stem cuttings you will need:

1. Sharpe Knife
2. Rooting Hormone
3. Peat Based soil

I like tip cuttings the best. Find a nice side shoot and from the top of the shoot go down about 3″. Cut the plant at an angle and dip into the rooting hormone. Immediately stick the cutting in the soil. Keep the soil moist. In a few weeks the plant should start to form roots. Once the plant has formed roots, you will take care of it the same way you took care of the parent plant.

Filed Under: Plant Propagation Tagged With: Chocolate Soldier Plant, Episcia, Plant Propagation

Black Bug Wreak Havoc On Penstemon

June 28, 2010 by Jamie Jamison Adams Leave a Comment

Ask the Expert: what is this small black bug in my flower garden?
This is a tiny black bug with a hard shell. It has antenna and six legs. It\’s eating the leaves of my gooseneck penstamon and the petals of my coneflowers. Last year I saw them inside the head of the coneflowers. They\’re very tiny and do a lot of damage. I thought they might be flea beetles, but they do not hop. However, they can walk very fast.
Thanks. Lynn

Flower Shop Network‘s Plant Expert Reply:
I am working on identifying the insect. It does sounds like a type of beetle. Can you send me a picture of the insect?

To keep this insect from damaging your perennials, you can use a systemic insecticide similar to the one used for roses or azaleas. You can get one that is mixed with fertilizer or you can get it in a liquid that you need to mix with water.

If you don’t want to use a systemic insecticide, you can spray the plants with an insecticide called eight.

Filed Under: Insect Identification Tagged With: Insect Identification, Perennials

Flowers Are The Best Way To Say I’m Sorry

June 28, 2010 by Jamie Jamison Adams Leave a Comment

It summer and it is hot. So, a relaxing day by the pool is just what my niece (Jordon) needed while studying for her nurse practitioner exam. Lucky for her, she has an aunt and uncle with a pool who are willing to let her use it on a hot summer day. So what does this all have to do with sending flowers?

Everyone has had one of those days when relaxing becomes stressful. Who knew a simple lunch invitation would turn into a fender bender?

While relaxing and studying, Christen (a friend of Jordon’s) stopped by and invited her to lunch. They jumped in his car and proceeded down the drive-way. Unfortunately a neighbor parked their car right behind the driveway and Christen backed right into it.

The tranquility of the day was completely erased in a matter of minutes. Thinking we would be upset, Jordon became very distressed. Seeing Jordon and the neighbor upset and thinking we would be mad, Christen became overwrought and embarrassed.

After exchanging insurance information with the neighbor, Jordon and Christen went to lunch. The conversation at lunch was virtually non-existent except for Christen’s constant apology. Although Jordon excepted his apologies, her moody was very gloomy. Instead of going back to the pool after lunch, Jordon went home to study and Christen went on his way.

A couple of hours later, Christen was on Jordon’s doorstep with a bouquet of flowers and a nice bottle of wine. Suddenly the cloud lifted and his apology was accepted with a smile and a hug.

Anyone can say they are sorry, but when you say it with flowers it means so much more. Everyone makes mistakes. Just remember when you make a mistake and need to say you are sorry, flowers will make them smile and forget all about it.

By the way Christen, where are my flowers? Oh yeah, neighbor would like some too.

Filed Under: Gift Ideas Tagged With: Flower Suggestions, I'm Sorry Flowers, Summer Flowers

Florists Beware of Hearing Impaired Scam

June 26, 2010 by Mandy Maxwell 39 Comments

We just got a call from a local Ohio flower shop, Burnett Flowers, about a scam targeting florists. Flower Shop Network would like to let all of you hard-working florists know about this scam.

Greg from Burnett Flowers got a call on Monday, June 21st, through the hearing impaired phone service (ttd relay) from someone wanting to place a $1600+ order. Fortunately for Greg, the relay service being used cut out before the order could be completed. After a little research, Greg found out it was a scam and notified us.

Greg discovered that 2 other florists from Eaton, Ohio had gotten a similar call. Florists from Ohio, Indiana, and even Kentucky should be cautious of this scam!

This type of scam is very similar to the Michigan florists scam last December. Here is an example of one of the calls from a Michigan florist:

Lynn from Bea’s Flowers & Gifts in Plymouth, MA’s said: “Here is a summary of the phone call I received on Nov. 23 regarding an order for 20 dozen roses. I received a call from the operator stating I had a call from someone who was deaf and she would need to interpret the call. The customer wanted to order 20 dozen mixed roses and was willing to pay $800 for the flowers and then added $950 to that for a delivery charge. They said they would have a truck pick up the flowers and we would then pay them the $950 for the shipping cost. They wanted us to put a total of $1,798.00 on a credit card and out of that we would pay the driver of the truck the $950 and keep the $848 for the roses. I asked for a name and phone number and this is what they gave me: Bella Mark at (917) 477-3043. I declined the order stating I was worried this was a stolen credit card and the customer hung up. I also reported this to the Plymouth Township Police.”

Have you been targeted by this scam? Use this website to report phone scams.

Please, if anyone else comes across this, or any other floral industry scams, let us know by emailing social@flowershopnetwork.com.

Filed Under: Florists Only Tagged With: Scams

Vote For Your Favorite Design In Our Inspiration Challenge Round 2!

June 25, 2010 by Mandy Maxwell 6 Comments

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The entries are in and are lookin’ GOOD!
In case you missed it, Flower Shop Network asked our talented designers to create a fabulous floral design inspired by a subject we selected. For this one, we chose a beautiful Luna Moth metal sculpture by Kari von Wening and Jan Bush . It really piqued our florist’s interests and they delivered fantastic results! Find more about the Design Inspiration Challenge here.

Now it’s your turn to participate! Look at the painting carefully and choose a floral design you think best interprets this masterpiece. Look closely at all of the designs before picking a winner! There is a poll at the bottom of this post — Be sure to cast your vote!!

FSN wishes all of the florists who entered GOOD LUCK!! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Floral Design Tagged With: Design Competition, Design Inspiration Challenge, Floral Design

It Can Be Arranged! The UPFA’s Annual Convention Is Coming Up!

June 24, 2010 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Just a little reminder, the UPFA’s annual convention is coming up!

Everyone is invited to attend the Utah Professional Florists Association‘s annual convention, It Can Be Arranged, June 26 and 27 at the Escala Event Center in Park City’s Canyons Resort.

Join your fellow floral professionals for the premiere event for the floral industry in Utah. There will be numerous opportunities for networking with wholesalers, retailers and vendors of all types relating to the floral industry.

This is a fantastic floral convention to attend! Great door prizes and thank you gifts will be awarded throughout the weekend. You will not want to miss this amazing opportunity! For more info, visit the Utah Professional Florists Association’s Blog.

Filed Under: Floral Conventions & Flower Shows Tagged With: Floral & Flower Shows, Floral Design, Local Florists

Archives for June 2010

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