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Care Instructions
Our flowers need only the simplest of care to keep them looking fresh. Your flowers will arrive in bud and will need perking up, as only a small amount of water is necessary for travel.
Please allow a few days for the flowers to open completely. Follow the care instructions above.
Once you have received your flowers, carefully open the box the right way up as soon as possible. When you have the box open, you should find that the flowers are tied in to the box, cut the ties and lift the flowers out on to a sideboard.
Whether you have a bouquet or hand tied the cellophane on the bottom of the flowers should be removed, to gain access to the stems.
Taking care if a hand tied not to cut the binding on the inside of cellophane that holds the stems of the hand tied together.
Choose an appropriate clean vase, fill with fresh water and add flower food. Remove any foliage that is below the water level in your vase. This stops bacteria growing and increases the life expectancy of your flowers.
Stems can be cut at different lengths depending on the vase height. Cutting the flowers stems at 45 degree angle and 3cm off the bottom, making sure all the stems have been cut. This will help the stems to absorb the water. Re-cut the stems every 2-3 days and keep topping up with fresh water to ensure maximum beauty and long life.
Caution:
Any lilies you receive should have the pollen stamens removed as your lilies open. Any pollen you do get on any fabric dabbing with cellotape do not brush off pollen. . Do not place your display near any direct heat or sunlight, draught or any fruit.
All our packaging is recycleable.
PHALAENOPSIS ORCHID
LIGHT: Bright, indirect light or direct sun. Ideal temperatures 75F-85F during the day, and 60F-65F during the night.
WATER: Lightly water once a week but be cautious of over-watering. Orchids do not have organs to store water, and excess water can cause root rot. Best to water over a sink and to never allow orchid to sit in water.
FERTILIZER: Only fertilize when plant is not in bloom. Feed plant with a high-nitrogen fertilizer once a month.
HUMIDITY: Moist air is ideal, with a humidity level of 55%-75%. Place plant over a tray or dish of water to increase moisture. Be sure to sit the plant on small rocks to ensure plant is not sitting directly in water.
PRUNING: After all blooms have withered, cut the stem above the second or third node below the last bloom to encourage growth
Top Tips For Cut Flower Care
- Make sure vases are very clean
- Use fresh lukewarm water with commercial cut flower food added.
- Strip all leaves below the water level.
- Take at least 3cm (1") off all stems, making a slanted cut with a sharp knife or very sharp scissors.
- Avoid direct sunlight, heat, or draughts which can shorten flowers' lives.
- Keep flowers away from fruit and remove faded flowers as they occur.
- Top up the water regularly and add flower food in proportion.
Care Tips
Care and conditioning tips for cut flowers
People often hesitate to buy fresh flowers because they think they can't get them to last more than a couple of days. Some flowers are short lived, but most commercially grown flowers will last at least a week if treated right. Commercially-grown flowers are specially treated after cutting, which means they will last longer than varieties cut from the garden.
Conditioning is the term florists use to mean getting the flowers ready for arranging. By following these few simple steps you can get extra life and pleasure from your flowers
PHALANOPSIS ORCHID
Description - Arching flower stalks bear lovely, flat, multiple flower heads which resemble moths or butterflies.
Origin - South East Asia
Family - Orchid family, with 50+ species belonging to the genus Phalaenopsis.
Care Tips - Enjoy a light spot, but no long-term exposure to bright sunlight. Regular, moderate watering ideally using boiled and cooled water. Provide high humidity, mist often but not on the flower heads. Feed with Orchid fertiliser every 14 days. Cut back stems after flowers fade to just below node which produced the first flower. Given the right conditions phalaenopsis can flower for months on end.
Trivia - Effective in removing xylene (chemical emissions from adhesives, computer VDU screens, paints, photocopiers, stains and varnishes) from the atmosphere.
GUZMANIA
Description - The beauty of guzmanias is in their strikingly coloured bracts.
Origin - Central and South America, West Indies
Family - Bromeliaceae (bromeliads)
Varieties - The best known is Guzmania lingulata (scarlet star) which bears orange and red bracts.
Care Tips - Needs bright filtered light throughout the year. If there is insufficient light, the plant will not produce flowers. Keep warm all year round and humid. Water plentifully, keeping the potting mixture moist, but not wet, at all times. The central rosette of leaves should be topped up regularly with water. In summer keep cup filled, in winter water less. Every fourteen days, from early spring to late summer, use a weak solution of fertiliser when watering or misting.
Trivia - Guzmania dies after it has produced its flowers in summer but new plants can easily be propagated from the offsets which appear as the parent plant dies. They are epiphytes and can do well if tied on to pieces of bark with roots bound into sphagnum moss.
STEPHANOTIS
Description - Long trailing stems which will climb and weave as trained. Dark green, leathery oval leaves. White waxy star shaped flowers.
Origin - Madagascar
Care Tips - Does not like to be moved. Enjoys a very bright though not sunny position. Does not tolerate frost, wet or cold conditions. Flowers early summer to early autumn. Water often from early spring to late summer with soft water and during winter reduce the amount of water but do not let the root ball dry out. Feed fortnightly during growing season. Mist the leaves (never the flowers) often in summer to produce humidity.
BOSTON FERN (NEPHROLEPIS)
Description - "Green Fantasy" has a compact shape with frilly fronds in a bright green. It is a robust variety which does not easily turn yellow or shed its leaves.
Origin - - New Zealand and tropical Asia.
Family - Davalliaceae
Care Tips - Ferns love humidity so the bathroom or kitchen would be best, on a saucer of wet pebbles and mist daily or as often as possible. It will tolerate low light levels but prefers a brighter spot. Do not let the temperature drop below 10°C (50°F).
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