Adelaide’s participated today in the La Jolla Historical Society’s Secret Garden Tour. Adelaide’s created the table decorations for 2 tables at one of the homes. We also decorated another table and fireplace that was tucked back next to the house but that had a wonderful garden view. Here are some photos of what we created. May thanks to our employees Patti and Melissa who created the wonderful look!
Remove the mother plant and pup from their container.
Gently pull the soil away, exposing the area where the mother plant and pup are joined.
The pup may or may not have its own root system. If necessary, pull additional soil away so you have a clear view of the base of both plants.
Most of the time, the pup can be pulled off the mother plant without the use of any tools. If it resists a firm but gentle tug, make the cut near the base of the mother plant.
Before planting the bromeliad pup, let it sit in the shade for at least a day. This allows the area that has been pulled or cut away from the mother plant to callous, preventing soil-borne diseases from entering through the soft tissue. Then you can plant the pup, using one of the recommended mixtures and gently pressing down on the soil around the base of the pup.
Care for the young plant just as you would a mature bromeliad.
Bromeliad’s are one of life’s simple pleasures…lovely to look at, easy to grow, nothing to worry about. However, once they finish blooming, everyone asks, “How do I get them to re-bloom?” “How do I take care of them?”
Culture:
It’s best to use purified water, especially for soft-leaf types like Guzmanias. Do not use water from a softener.
Let the plants dry out between waterings. It is okay if the soil on the bottom of the pot still is a little damp, but the surface should be dry to the touch.
Water the plant by pouring directly into the “cup” or “tank” formed by the center leaves. The tank is an evolutionary adaptation that acts as a reservoir, providing an emergency supply of water and nutrients. Continue pouring after the tank begins to overflow, allowing the excess to spill out and moisten the soil below.
Direct light on a sunny day is far too intense for most bromeliads, including Aechmeas and Guzmanias, the two most popular types. Direct sunshine can exceed 10,000 foot-candles; the ideal light level for bromeliads is generally around 1,800 foot-candles. If you don’t have access to a light meter, simply look for an area that is somewhat shaded and protected from long periods of hot, direct sunlight.
Scientific studies suggest bromeliads can help improve indoor air-quality as you sleep. In the photosynthetic process, most common indoor plants remove carbon dioxide while emitting oxygen and water vapors during the day. But research indicates that bromeliads behave differently during the day / night cycle, releasing oxygen and removing air pollutants at night. Data collected by the Plants for Clean Air Council suggest that when combined with foliage plants, bromeliads can help provide around-the-clock indoor air purification.
Re-Blooming:
Bromeliad blooms are a wonder of variety and longevity. They come in an astounding array of colors and shapes. Some remain tucked inside the rosette of leaves, while others grow into plumes reaching two or more feet in length.
Numerous factors contribute to bromeliad blooms: time, light and water are just a few. One of the most important variables is temperature, with a minimum requirement of 50 degrees
Many of the more popular types of bromeliads, including Guzmanias, Tillandsias and Vrieseas, bloom naturally during the spring, summer and fall months. Guzmanias require purified water and more humidity than other types.
It is possible to prematurely force a bloom by exposing a bromeliad to ethylene gas, a natural byproduct of decomposing organic matter. For the home enthusiast, take a slice of an apple and place it at the bottom of the plant or tuck it into one of its leaves. Commercial products such as Florel, often used to ripen tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables, have successfully been used to produce bromeliad flowers.
Propagation:
To be continued…..
Gifts:
We are carrying unique glass hearts from a local artisan, Cindy McQuade, Blown Glass Artist. She has studied internationally as well as locally. Her hearts are beautiful and unique.
In a nutshell, here’s how she makes them. The pictures are amazing. First you gather molten glass – 2150 degrees. Roll into colored glass chips and powder. Melt the chips and powder into the glass. Gather more glass over the first gather of glass and colored chips, this magnifies the colors underneath. Then you shape the glass. After the heart if finished it goes into an annealing oven, – 920 degrees – where at the end of the day the temperature will be brought down slowly to keep the glass from cracking.
Here are some pictures. The one on the end is an assortment of hearts we have for sale.
Flowers:
Our Flower of the month is the unusual Hellebore. It is in the ranunculus family but that’s where the similarity ends. There are so many kinds of hellebores. The plants are typically grown as perennials in shade gardens. Hellebores come in shades of white, green, rose, purple and violet. They will last up to 10 days with the correct care. When you receive your Hellebore, trim a bit off the stems and immediately plunge the stem ends (1/2”) into hot water containing a floral preservative for about 15 seconds. Then put the flowers up to their necks in cool water for a few hours or overnight before arranging.
Some hellebores are named for the time of the year in which they bloom. For example, there’s the Christmas-rose, and the Lenten-rose. In fact, both of these will typically be in bloom well into late spring. If given winter protection, the Christmas-rose will bloom throughout the winter months. Our hellebores come from Northern California.
Plants:
How are your phalaenopsis orchids looking? We have some photos to guide you in the proper way of trimming your orchids.
We are going to show you what to do with a not so looking plant. This plant needs help. The first picture shows you an orchid plant with a dead stem (see the color – it’s beige, not green) as well as a green one, except as you can see in the second photo the green stem has a top that is dead. Also note all the roots growing out of the top of the pot. The smaller dark brown branches are birch that is used to support the blooming stem. We are going to trim the dead branches off and also the plant needs to be re-potted.
In the 3rd picture, you can see the node and our hands on either side of this node. We are going to “snap” the branch into two. We could use scissors or a knife but please clean them first with rubbing alcohol before using them to cut off the dead stem. In the 4th and 5th pictures you can see the clean end of the stem.
The 6th picture shows the potted orchid in it’s new pot. The original orchid was planted in moss. When repotting, we remove all the moss and re-plant it in bark.
In the next series of photos, we show a new orchid plant. Notice that there is one bloom open and the others are just buds. This is why in the second photo you see the bloom on the left is dead. This is not a problem, it’s just been around the longest. Just remove that bloom. The others will continue to bloom.
If you have any questions on orchid care, just send us an email: plants@adelaidesflowers.com.
Flowers:
July starts out with a bang with the Fourth of July!
Try our Flower Confetti to sparkle the table.
*2 bags red rose petals
*12 white carnations
*10 stems delphinium (or agapanthus) blossoms
Pull carnation petals apart. Take delphinium blossoms off main stems. Scatter rose petals, carnation petals and delphinium blossoms on your party table!
July is also when the horses come to Del Mar. We will be designing the flowers for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club again this year so remember to look at our incredible designs. Here’s a photo of one of them from last year. Check out our “What’s New” and our blog for more pictures when the racing season opens.
If you are planning a party at the Club, remember to have us design your table and or buffet arrangements. Here is the link for the Thoroughbred Club: http://www.dmtc.com/
Plants:
The beginning of July is a good time to re-visit poinsettias. If you put your poinsettia plant outdoors after the holidays, I’m sure it has grown. Now is a good time to prune the plant to keep it bushy and compact. For more information on poinsettia plant care, check out Ecke’s website at http://www.ecke.com/html/h_corp/corp_pntcare.html.
Have you seen our new succulent terrariums? Our designers have been busy. Here’s a sample of one, something unique.
Terrarium Care Instructions:
The succulent garden terrarium is planted in a porous potting mix, to allow for some drainage. The plants require bright light, but not hot, direct sun. Succulents store water in their thick stems. For best results, maintain a moderately dry soil. Water sparingly, approximately 3 teaspoons of water every 7-10 days.
Specials:
WOW! Our beautiful phalaenopsis orchids are on sale! We were able to negotiate a great deal on them and want to pass it on. For the month of July, all the phalaenopsis orchids will be 15% off. Our orchid gardens with phalaenopsis will not be on sale but will be less expensive using these beautiful orchids.
Flowers
The “Rose” is the flower of the month. The rose has historically been associated with romance and beauty. We are celebrating the rose by bringing in more roses and rose types for your selection. The first 2 weeks of June we will be showcasing spray roses from 2 of our favorite growers. If you haven’t bought spray roses before, this is the time to try them out. Spray roses have a single strong stem with a multitude of smaller roses on their branches. They provide a lot of color and enjoyment for a single stem. The last 2 weeks we will have a larger than usual supply of regular roses, short ones and long stemmed ones.
Our first grower is Eufloria Roses (here’s their link www.eufloriaflowers.com). They grow beautiful spray roses as well as other beautiful roses. Although they are located in Central California, once they cut their roses, they are always in water and even shipped to us in water. Here are some photos.
The second grower is Dramm & Echter (here’s their link www.drammechter.com). They are a local grower and we have been buying flowers from them for over 35 years. We are so fortunate to have them in our backyard.
Have us create a great arrangement using roses for that someone special or “just because”.
Plants:
June is a good month to talk about Hydrangeas. They are a spectacular garden plant as well as an extra special cut flower. We have had beautiful ones here in the store. Now is a good time to plant them in the garden or you can wait until they finish blooming.
Plant the hydrangea in an area where it will get partial shade or morning sun /afternoon shade. Drainage is also important. Moist doesn’t mean wet. Hydrangeas will thrive in rich, moist soils with adequate water.
Do you like pink blooms or blue ones? You can change the color of the blooms by adding different amendments to the soil. For pink blooms, the soil needs to have more lime and for blue blooms, it needs to be more acidic (adding aluminum sulfate). However, white blooms are always white.
Hydrangeas are easy to root from stem cuttings. Take a 6 inch cutting off the plant, remove the leaves on the lower 3 inches and place in water in a bright location. When there are roots on the stem, plant it in soil.
Here’s a great link for more information on hydrangea care http://www.filoli.org/downloads/garden/gardeners-reference-sheets/hydrangea-care.pdf
Specials:
June is the month of our annual inventory reduction sale! We are trying to reduce our giftware before we have to inventory it. The sale starts June 1st for the whole month. Come early for our best selection. Here’s what’s on sale:
Red-tagged items 40% off
50% off selected candles
25% off selected “silk” arrangements
10% off silk stems or free labor on custom silk arrangements
10% off all other gift items.
No flowers or plants will be on sale.
Here at Adelaide’s we are lucky and get to work with many different materials. We used blue “crystals” at a recent charity event. Here are some photos of what that event looked like.
We have also decided to do a display with the blue “crystals” in our store. These “crystals” are not really crystals but are round and soft, similar to marbles. They actually start small and grow when you add water. You can see the smaller size on the right. I’ve also included some other colors.
Here is what our great designers have done, incorporating these blue “crystals” into their designs and display. I hope you like them.
Check out those beautiful blue hydrangeas! An extra treat…
Here’s a photo of some of our employees. You can see the designer on the second to the right, creating another “blue” wonder. Stop by our store to see the crystals in real life. You’ll be amazed.
May is here and so are the holidays!
May Day – May 1
Kentucky Derby – May 2
Cinco de Mayo – May 5
National Nurses Day – May 6
Mother’s Day – May 10
Memorial Day – May 25 (observed)
Flowers:
Here’s a snapshot of some great Mother’s Day gifts.
Mom is special!
Place your order early for best selection!
Plants:
Phalaenopsis care:
Ever wonder when to transplant your orchid? Phalaenopsis are tropical plants. Now is the best time to re-pot if the plant is not in bloom and the plant is growing out of the pot and/or the bark is poor (easily breaks into pieces). When re-potting, it may shock the plant and therefore might not bloom for 1-2 years. As soon as the new root growth is seen, begin regular watering and fertilizing to make maximum use of this growing season.
Special Offer:
Adelaide’s has teamed up with San Diego Home & Garden. You can purchase a one year subscription of the magazine for $9.00 when you order flowers from us. That is a savings of $9.00. The subscription comes with a 2 line personalized message on the label. What a great way to tell your Mom that she is extra special each month! Call or place your order on-line, click here .