Little York Plantation

Fresh Flowers Some tips for success:

Growing and using plants for fresh flower arrangements and crafts is a timeless art. Fresh flowers are the perfect accent for any room, for any occasion or no particular occasion at all!

Pick flowers and foliage in the morning after dew has dried. Picking flowers before the heat of the day helps prevent wilting and heat stress after cutting.
Use only fresh specimens at or before their peak of bloom for best color and fragrance retention.

Flowers should be ‘conditioned’ after picking and before they are used. Conditioning, for most stems, involves the re-cutting of the stem (at a 45 degree angle or more) and submerging the stems in tepid or warm water prepared with professional preservative solution or sugar. Try to have four or more inches of water in the container. Special plants require special care: Woody stems – forsythia, magnolia, lilacs, cherry, hydrangea- crush the stem ends gently with a hammer or split the stem end with a knife about two inches up through the bottom. Scraping two inches of bark from woody stems will also aid water in traveling up the stem. Hollow stems – amaryllis, delphinium, lupine – turn upside down and fill stem with conditioned water, plugging with moistened cotton. Milky sap stems – poppies, hollyhocks, euphorbias – cauterize stem end over a flame until end turns black. This will allow greater take –up of water and prevent the water from becoming cloudy.

They also make the perfect gift to help express all that words could never say. Want to know what certain flowers ‘mean’? See our ‘Victorian Language of Flowers’ Fact Sheet. The fragrance and beauty of fresh flowers and foliage are enduring and loved the world over.

Always be sure to remove any foliage and thorns that will be below the water line. Foliage left below water line will quickly rot and spread bacteria that will shorten the life of an arrangement. This will also help the water to remain clear in glass containers.
Allow freshly conditioned flowers to sit at room temperature for at least one hour before either use or refrigeration (do no refrigerate orchids, or exotics/ tropicals such as bird of paradise. callas, ginger, or anthirium).

Maintain the fresh beauty of an arrangement by changing the water on a daily basis. It is wise to re-cut the stems every couple of days. Remove spent flowers as they occur.

*Fresh Garden Flowers*
Botanical Name	Common Name	Plant Type		Botanical Name	Common Name	Plant Type
Achillea	Yarrow	perennial		Chamelaucium uncinatum	Wax Flower	cut flower
Aconitum	Monkshood	perennial		Chlorophytum	Spiderplant	houseplant
Agapanthus africanus	Agapanthus/Lily of the Nile	cut flower		Chrysanth. parthenium	Feverfew	perennial
Alcea rosea	Hollyhocks	perennial		Chrysanthemum	Mums, Daisies	perennial
Alchemilla mollis	Lady's Mantle	perennial		Cleome hassleranna	Spider Flower	annual
Allium giganteum	Giant Allium	bulb		Convallaria majallis	Lily of the Valley	perennial
Allium sp.	Chives	per. Herb		Crocosmia x 'crocomiiflora'	Crocosmia	cut flower
Alstromeria species	Alstromeria	cut flower		Cytisus canariensis	Genista	cut flower
Anchusa	Italian Bugloss	perennial		Dahlia hybrid	Dahlias	annual
Anigozanthos sp.	Kangaroo Paws	cut flower		Daucus carota	Queen Anne's Lace	wildflower
Anthurium andraeanum	Anthurium	tropical		Delhinium hyb.	Delphinium	perennial
Antirrhinum majus	Snapdragons	annual		Delphinium hyb.	Larkspur	annual
Aquilegia	Columbine	perennial		Dianthus caryophyllus	Carnations	cut flower
Arisaema triphylum	Jack-in-the-Pulpit	perennial		Dicentra	Bleeding Heart	perennial
Armeria	Common Thrift	perennial		Digitalis	Foxglove	perennial
Aruncus	Goat's Beard	perennial		Doroicum	Leopard's Bane	perennial
Aster	Asters	perennial		Echinacea	Coneflower	perennial
Astilbe sp.	Astilbe	perennial		Eremerus sp.	Foxtail Lily	perennial
Baptista	False Indigo	perennial		Erica gracilis	Heather	shrub
Boltonia	Boltonia	perennial		Eryngium species	Sea Holly	perennial
Bouvardia longiflora	Bouvardia	cut flower		Eucalyptus cinera	Eucalyptus/ Gum	cut flower
Buxus	Boxwood	shrub		Eustoma grandiflorum	Lisianthus	cut flower
Calendula	Calendula	annual		Fagus sp.	Beech	tree
Campanula	Campanula	perennial		Filipendula	Meadowsweet	perennial
Celosia	Celosia, Cockscomb	annual		Forsythia	Forsythia	shrub
Centranthrus	Knapflower	perennial		Freesia hybrid	Freesia	cut flower
Fuchsia	Fuchsia	annual		Paeonia lactiflora	Peony	perennial
Gentian	Gentian	perennial		Papaver	Poppy	perennial
Gerbera jamesonii	Gerber Daisies	annual		Patrinia scabiosifolia	Patrina	perennial
Gladiolus hybrid	Gladiolus	corm(bulb)		Phliadelphus virginiana	Mock Orange	shrub
Gypsophila	Baby's Breath	perennial		Phlox paniculata	Phlox	perennial
Helenium	Sneezewood	perennial		Prunus	Cherry, Plum	tree
Helianthus annus	Sunflowers	annual		Quercus sp.	Oak	tree
Heuchera	Coral Bells	perennial		Ranunculus asiaticus	Ranunculus	bulb
Hippeastrum hyb.	Amaryllis	bulb		Rosa hybrid	Roses	shrub
Hyacinthus orientalis	Hyacinths	bulb		Salix discolor	Pussy Willow	shrub
Hydrangea sp.	Hydrangea	shrub	<