Tips and tricks to keep flowers looking fresh

Everyone enjoys having a bouquet of flowers out on display, but it can be hard to keep them looking their best for as long as possible.  So here are some tips and tricks for keeping your cut flowers looking healthy and happy for days.

1. Cut stems



When you get home with your flowers, cut the stems about an inch from the bottom before immediately putting them in water.  Even a few minutes out of a vase will allow a cap to form on the stem, preventing it from taking up as much water as it can.  Cutting the stem reveals fresh, open cells that are ready to soak up moisture and keep the flower from decaying.

2. Treating water



Treat the water in your vase with a flower food powder, which gives the stems glucose to use as food, acid to keep the pH of the water ideal, and bleach to prevent the growth of bacteria that might harm your flowers.  If you don't have flower food, you can make your own with this recipe.  Putting a penny in your vase will also keep fungus or bacteria away, due to the copper (a natural fungicide).

3.  Refrigerate your flowers



There's a reason florist shops keep flowers in a large refrigerator: it slows the decay of the cells (read our previous post about the importance of keeping flowers cold)  Place your arrangement or bouquet in the fridge overnight to keep it perky during the day.  Never use the crisper drawer though, the temperature in there is too cold for flowers and will kill them.

4. Location, location, location



Never put your arrangement or bouquet in direct sun or near drafts.  Keep them somewhere cool with indirect sunlight.  Good locations are away from vents, windows, and bright lights.

5. Misting



Many cut flowers will appreciate being misted with cool water.  Hydrangeas, (pictured above) especially enjoy having their heads dunked completely underwater for a few hours to perk up if they start drooping.

So do you have any tips for keeping arrangements and bouquets fresh for days?  Let us know your tricks in a comment below.

THIS WEEKS CODE WORD IS VASE!  Mention it on your next visit for BOGO on loose roses!  Thanks for reading the blog!

-Your flower loving friends at Hummingbird Floral

Dorm room/office plants

Houseplants brighten up a room in more ways than one.  They clean and purify the air we breath, add a touch of nature to the indoors, and even teach about nurturing and caring for another living thing.  School is starting soon for many, so here are some ideas for easy to care for houseplants that will brighten a dorm room or even an office that needs some green.

For the simplest plant to keep in a dorm or office, try an air plant terrarium.

A simple air plant setup

These plants are perfect for placing in a vase or hanging bowl.  They require little sunlight and because they have no roots need only to be soaked or misted about every week to stay healthy.  Just place them with whatever decorative stones or sand matches your room for an instant conversation piece.

Another very simple houseplant is the marimo moss ball.

Use sand for an exotic look

An alternative to fish tanks that require regular time consuming maintenance and are difficult to transport during breaks, marimo terrariums are the aquatic version of a pet rock (and a little more interesting to look at!) Marimo are happiest out of direct sun in cool, shadowed areas.  Just replace the water every other week and run the moss under cold water, gently squeezing out the old water like a sponge.  That's it!  

Of course, if you want something a little more traditional, you can't go wrong with a spider plant.

Be warned: spider plants grow fast!

Spider plants are ubiquitous in office spaces, and for good reason.  They grow quickly, don't need large amounts of sun, and propagate i.e sprout miniature 'pups' that can be cut and potted separately.  Water it as you would any potted plant, and remove the pups as they grow.  

Another leafy plant that does well in dorm or office spaces is philodenron or pothos plants.  

A pothos

Similar in care to the spider plant, these leafy, vine plants do well with indirect sun and can even be kept in vases of water rather than pots.

So, what do you think?  What kind of indoor plant do you have the best success with?  Let us know in a comment below.  

SPECIAL CODE WORD: PLANTS.  MENTION THIS WORD IN THE STORE FOR BOGO ON LOOSE ROSES.  Thanks for reading the blog!

-Your flower loving friends at Hummingbird Floral and Gift

The ultimate orchid care guide

Orchids have long been known as difficult houseplants.  They've been described as delicate, picky, and require far too much work for the average houseplant owner.  But these ideas are simply not true.

In Victorian England, only the wealthy could afford to import exotic plants and flowers for their homes and greenhouses.  Importers traveled the world and brought back strange plants that fetched high prices in high societies.  Charles Darwin and other naturalists cataloged some of the 30,000 varieties of orchid and noted each of the species differences.  

Today, anybody can keep an orchid.  The most popular varieties include:

Moth Orchid

  

Cattleya Orchid

 Paphiopedilum Orchid

So how do you keep this beautiful flowering plant happy?  This care guide will focus on the moth orchid, as it is our most popular sold at Hummingbird.  Other varieties may have different care needs, let us know which orchid you want a care guide for next in a comment below and we'll help you out!

Moth Orchid care: 

Temperature : Keep your orchid away from direct sunlight or drafts.  An interior room away from doors or large windows is best.

Watering: Always feel your orchid's substrate for dampness, the dirt shouldn't be overly wet or dry and crumbling.  Water with cool water whenever your orchid feels dry.  Orchids also appreciate a misting every week or so with a fine spray.

Fertilizing: To ensure the health of your orchid plant, fertilizing is recommended.  Use a fertilizer marked for use in orchids or houseplants and follow the fertilization guidelines.

Regrowth:  When all the flowers have dropped from your orchid plant, cut the stems down, leaving 2-3" of stem above soil.  Continue watering every 10 days or whenever the soil feels dry, and the plant will begin to regrow.  If the stems droop or lean, tie them to a support branch placed in the soil so the flowers will grow outwards rather than down.

What do you think?  How have you had success with the intimidating orchid?  Let us know in a comment below.

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird Floral and Gift

4 Flowers you can EAT?!

Among the most unique trends in desserts this year comes edible flowers.  That's right: real, live flowers you can use to decorate cakes, cookies, and any other desserts you can think of.

flowers can turn a cake from dull to dazzling

So which flowers can be used to create a memorable dessert that will have all your friends talking?  

Dandelions: Dandelions have been used as a food item ever since the Great Depression, when savvy families would gather them by the bucketful.  Every part of the dandelion is edible, from the root to the petals.  Their petals make a nice, sprinkle-like addition to the tops of cupcakes or cookies.

Use flower petals with sprinkles to create the ultimate topping

Carnations: Carnation petals, when removed from the white base (which is bitter) are sweet and soft.  And with red, white, pink, and orange colors to choose from, they're perfect for pressing into the frosting of cakes.

Roses: Roses have a wide variety of flavors, from citrus to mint to spice.  Serve small spray rose petals on top of ice cream or large standard rose petals in salads.  Again, remove the bitter white petal base for the best flavors.

You can even serve ice cream inside flowers for a sweet suprise

Violets: Vivid violet petals can be crystallized to add to summer iced drinks for a sweet kick.

Disclaimer: Always do research before eating flowers.  Never eat flowers that have not been gathered specifically for consumption.  Use flowers sparingly in food.  

We used What's Cooking America's guide to edible flowers.  Good Housekeeping  has an article about sourcing safe edible flowers.

What do YOU think?  Have you ever tried edible flowers?  Let us know your experiences with them in a comment below!

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird Floral and Gift

The secret to buying the freshest flowers

If you talk to any designer here at Hummingbird, they'll tell you that the most important step in making sure your flowers stay fresh for the longest time is by maintaining the cold cycle.  Some of our flowers come from as far away as Holland and South America, so keeping them in optimal condition as they are transported is crucial to extending their lives. But what is the cold cycle, and why is it so important?

A typical display cooler for arrangements

The cold cycle is what floral designers like to call the process of keeping cut flowers at low temperatures from the time that they are harvested to when they are purchased.  Cold temperatures (from 38-40 degrees Fahrenheit) keep the cells in a flower sluggish and slows them from using up their stores of nutrients, which prevents decay for as long as possible.

The cycle begins when the flowers are cut from the areas where they are grown.  After they're bundled together and packaged to be shipped, they're placed in cooled waiting areas, where the cycle begins.

The flowers are taken to the airport in refrigerated trucks and put on a temperature controlled plane (near the back, where it's coldest), and sent to their various destinations.

When flowers arrive at the wholesaler, they remain at optimal temperatures until they're bought by floral stores like ours and again put on a cooled truck to be taken to their final stop in the cold chain: our coolers.

Our Cooler

A good floral store will never leave flowers out at room temperature for long periods of time.  Floral designers use temperature change to their advantage.  Flowers that have tight petals that need to open (like daisies or lilies) are exposed to warmer air to open up so they can be used right away.  Flowers that don't need to be used for a few days are kept in their packaging and left on shelves in the cooler to stay fresh.

So, the cold cycle is integral to making sure flowers stay as fresh as possible.  From the fields they are grown in to your home, Hummingbird Floral uses the cold cycle to make sure you're getting the best flowers you can.

What do you think?  How long do your flowers usually last?  Do you have a secret tip to make them last longer.  Share it with us in a comment below.

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird

5 Things you need for the perfect bonfire night!

Summer is in full bloom here at Hummingbird Floral and Gift, so we wanted to highlight some of our favorite summer products to make the most of the season, starting with hosting a great bonfire!

First up is the One Log Fire.



This little log has an interesting history.  During the Thirty Years war, soldiers who were constantly on the move needed to be efficient with their fires.  So, they developed a design that would burn from the inside out, keeping them warm and cooking meals all night long.  It was small enough to be toted by horses from one campsite to the next, and required no tending to as it burned.

Today, this compact, easy to transport log is all you need to have a bonfire during those cool summer nights.  Simply place the log on a fire-proof surface and remove the label.  Then, light the starter and you're good to go!  This log is perfect for last minute bonfires and is a great way to roast marshmallows or simply relax and enjoy the outdoors.  It's simple and practical, just like the ones used by soldiers.

Unfortunately, with outdoor activities come outdoor pests.  That's why we carry a selection of products to prevent and treat annoying bug bites.



Murphy's Naturals is an eco-friendly company devoted to making sure bugs are kept away without harmful chemicals.  One of their most popular products that we offer is long-lasting candle (up to 30 hours!) that uses citron, lemongrass, and rosemary oil to keep bugs away without using Deet.

If you have a larger area to protect, Mosquito Sticks may be just what you're looking for.  These incense sticks, once lit, last up to two and a half hours.  In addition to the oils used in the candle, the sticks use cedar and peppermint that make a fragrant addition to fresh summer air.

Finally, if you do find yourself with some bites, Murphy's has a soothing balm to take the pain and itching away.  It uses the same plant based oils as the candles and sticks to keep you from scratching yourself silly all night, with the assurance that what you put on your skin is going to be natural and gentle on the body, unlike some other chemical-based bug bite treatments.

Lastly, one thing that can easily turn a bonfire night from fun to frustrating is drinks that just don't stay refreshingly cold, no matter how much ice you add.



Well, True North Coolers is here to fix that.  Their collection of high quality stainless steel cups, bowls and water bottles are made of double-walled, vacuum sealed, bpa-free stainless steel that keeps cold drinks seriously cold for hours.  The specially shaped beer, margarita and wine glasses let you enjoy a cool drink outdoors without needing to water them down with ice.  They even have lids that prevent spills (or curious ants).

So there you have it; everything you need to have the best bonfire on the block!  But we want to hear what you think: what can't you live without on a campfire night?  Do you have any tips for getting rid of bugs? What food is best cooked over a fire?  Let us know in a comment below.

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird

Happy 4th from Hummingbird Floral and Gift!

Happy fourth!  We at Hummingbird wanted to take a quick moment today to show you some great red, white, and blue flowers to display this July.

Carnations are available in rich reds that will pop in any arrangement, and they have a unique texture that adds depth to a bouquet.



White spider mums have dynamic petals that mimic an exploding firework, and their size makes them a focal point amidst smaller stems.



Finally, blue hydrangeas add the 'wow' factor to any arrangement, but beware!  Hydrangeas that looks sad need to have their flowers soaked in water for a while to perk back up.



We hope everyone is having a wonderful Independence day.  Look back here next week for an in depth look at the cold chain and why it is vital to any floral shop.  Until then, what's your favorite red, white, or blue flower?  Let us know in a comment below.

-Your flower-loving friends at Hummingbird floral and Gift