February Birth Month Flower is Violet

Violet

Botanical Name :	Saintpaulia ionantha and S. spp.
Common Name :	African Violet
Product Use :	Flowering Plant
Pronunciation :	saint-PAUL-li-uh eye-o-NAN-tha
Family Roots :	One of the more famous members of the Gesneriaceae (gesneria family). Native to coastal Tanzania. Three relatives are cape-primrose, Episcia and gloxinia.
Availability :	Year-round.
Flower Color :	Many including white, pink, blue, purple, bicolors.
Decorative Life :	Months to years, depending on use.
Ethylene Sensitivity :	Medium
Ethylene Comments :	While researchers have documented the beneficial effects of spraying STS on potted and bedding plants (including this species) to prevent or reduce ethylene-induced disorders, labels for registered STS products only give directions for uptake solutions, not sprays. Therefore, Chain of Life Network cannot recommend STS as a spray until it is properly registered for this application method. Only MCP is presently registered for this application method.
Post Harvest Care Opportunities :	Irrigate with warm or room temperature water. Cold water coming in contact with leaves can damage leaf cells and leave spots. Irrigating from the bottom is another way to avoid this problem. If interior environments are proper, plants can flower throughout the year. However, if placed in 150 ft-c or less of light, plants typically stop flowering after about one month due to a lack of carbohydrate (food) production.
Storage Specifics :	Chill sensitive, store above 55F.
Preharvest & Harvest Factors:	Growing plants using 150 ppm nitrogen produced longer lasting plants after harvest than those grown using 200-300 ppm. There are literally thousands of cultivars, many of which respond very differently to interior environments. Therefore, cultivar selection is very important in determining postharvest performance. Plants grown under high relative humidity (90-95%) produced more dry weight than when grown under lower humidity (55-60%).
Tidbits :	The specific epithet name ionantha means purpled-flowered. Saintpaulia: named after the discoverer of the plant, Baron Walter von Saint Paul-Illaire, 1860-1910. This is likely the most popular of all flowering house plants because it generally flowers year-round. Seems to thrive on neglect under interior conditions. Often grown under artificial lights. Easy to reproduce by cuttings. Will generally do well in light levels bright enough to read a newspaper in comfort. Sunny window in winter and filtered light in summer. Too much sun can burn the foliage while too little light will cause the leaf stems (petioles) to elongate and flowering will decrease. Violet is the Birth Month Flower for February See More Birth Month Flowers: http://www.hoogasian.com/BirthMonthFlowers.html

October Birth Month Flower is Marigold

Marigold

Botanical Name :	Tagetes erecta
Common Name :	African Marigold
Product Use :	Cut Flower
Pronunciation :	ta-GAY-teez e-REK-ta
Family Roots :	Member of the Asteraceae or Compositae (aster family). Native to Mexico and Central America. Common relatives include calendula, cosmos, dahlia, zinnia and strawflower.
Personality :	Flowers single or more often double, up to 2 inches across, at stem ends. Stems hollow, leafy, 24-32 inches long. Plant is an annual, classed as a dicotyledon. Flowers have a somewhat pungent odor, as do the leaves.
Availability :	Mostly summer but more being grown year-round.
Flower Color :	Yellow, orange, solid colors.
Decorative Life :	About 7-10 days.
Ethylene Sensitivity :	Medium
Ethylene Comments :	Severe levels can cause epinasty or bending of the stems. Under some conditions where exposure to high ethylene levels is possible, treating with an anti-ethylene product could be beneficial.
Post Harvest Care Opportunities :	Remove bottom leaves if present, recut stems under water and place into a fresh flower food solution. Leaves left in vase water rot easily and have foul odor.
Storage Specifics :	In one study it is reported that 34-36F is best, but not recommended for long periods. In another study, French marigolds stored better at 40F compared to 33F.
Preharvest & Harvest Factors:	Treating with the growth retardant Uniconazole for plug height control during production does not adversely affect subsequent growth and flowering.
Tidbits :	Named for Tages, an Etruscan deity, the grandson of Jupiter, who sprang from the ploughed earth. The Compositae or aster family is vast, with over 20,000 species, and is also one of the most developed families. It was named Compositae because the flowers are actually a "composite" of many individual flowers into one head. Hence, when children pull one "petal" off at a time, saying "she/he loves me, loves me not", they are actually removing a complete flower, not just a petal. Scent of foliage deters insects, roots exude chemical that repels soil nematodes. Marigolds often interplanted with crops or other ornamentals for pest control. The specific epithet name "erecta" means upright. Appropriately named Mary s Gold, these were the flowers of the Virgin Mary and were used to decorate church altars. Sometimes fed to chickens to improve yolk color. Suitable for drying. According to Creasy (1999), fresh petals are edible. Can be used in deviled eggs and butter and sprinkled over broccoli and other strong flavored vegetables. T. erecta are generally taller, have bigger flowers and their flowers often consist of one color whereas T. patula are shorter, smaller and have bicolored flowers.

It's Dahlia Season (all photos in this post taken at the San Francisco Dahlia Garden in Golden Gate Park)

August Birth Month Flower is Gladiolus

Botanical Name :	Gladiolus spp.
Common Name :	Sword Lily
Product Use :	Cut Flower
Pronunciation :	glad-ee-O-lus
Family Roots :	Member of the Iridaceae (iris family). Native to South Africa. Cousins include Iris, freesia, crocus, ixia and Watsonia.
Personality :	Normally has 10-16 flowers (4-10 inches or more in length) on a one-sided spike at end of stem. Stems are thick, fleshy, up to 4 feet long. Plant is a perennial from corms, classed as a monocotyledon, leaves mostly parallel veined. While a few cultivars are sweetly scented, most have no fragrance.
Availability :	Mid-spring through fall.
Flower Color :	Most, except true blue.
Decorative Life :	6-10 days.
Ethylene Sensitivity :	Low
Ethylene Comments :	Gladiolus flowers are believed to be insensitive to ethylene. However, while STS treatment does not extend the life of open florets, it does promote the opening of more flowers on spikes with a net effect of increased vaselife. It is unknown at the time of this writing if MCP would provide the same results.
Post Harvest Care Opportunities :	Recut stems under water and place into a fresh flower food solution. Pulsing stems with a 20% sugar solution at room temperature for 24 hours can aid in the opening of more florets per stem, just like when treated with STS. To make a 20% solution, add 1.5 pounds of sugar to one gallon of a freshly made fresh flower food solution made with hot water. Note that the water needs to be hot to aid in dissolving the sugar. Stems are geotropic which means they bend upward from gravity. Handle in vertical position to prevent bending or handle horizontally only at 32-34 degrees F. Removing a few immature flower buds at the tip of the spike as recommended by some to help open lower, more mature flowers is not supported by research. Removal of lower, more mature flowers as they wilt will not help open upper flowers and in fact reduces their ability to open. Placing flowers in fluoride containing water can reduce vaselife, namely, levels as low as 0.25 ppm is all that is needed.
Storage Specifics :	Generally 32-38F. However, some cultivars grown in Florida are reported to be chill sensitive and therefore are stored at 45 degrees F. No research is available to confirm this report. In addition, there is data to support the use of low oxygen and high carbon dioxide storage and/or packaging of mini-glads ('Adi'). Flowers stored for 14 days at 35F had good subsequent vaselife.
Preharvest & Harvest Factors:	Cultivar selection is important. For example, some good mini glads are 'Adi' (currant-red), 'Kinnereth' (violet), 'Ronit' (purple), 'Yamit' (violet) and 'Nirit (blood-red). Spraying plants 2 weeks before flowers are harvested with a 2% calcium nitrate solution greatly reduces stem topple (breakage) disorder after harvest. Addition of calcium to the soil has little benefit in preventing this postharvest disorder. Harvest when 1-5 flowers on a spike are showing color.
Tidbits :	Gladiolus means sword in Latin, referring to the long pointed leaves. This might explain one early common name, sword lily. Miniature forms are available with stems under 2 feet long. Grown from corms, not bulbs. The first species as we know them today were introduced from Ghent, Belgium in 1841. Flower forms: ruffled, fringed, orchid-like, tulip-like and rose-like. Some cultivars are sensitive to fluoride found in water supplies, which can result in flower tip burn. Shorter cultivars are available which has transformed this stereotypic funeral flower into a contemporary favorite. See more Birth Month Flowers: http://www.hoogasian.com/BirthMonthFlowers.html