May Birth Month Flower is Lily

Lily of the Valley

Botanical Name :	Convallaria majalis
Common Name :	Lily of the Valley
Product Use :	Cut Flower
Pronunciation :	kon-va-LAH-ree-a mah-JA-lis
Family Roots :	Member of the Liliaceae (lily) family. Native to Europe. Related species include lily, tulip, asparagus, daylily.
Personality :	Nodding, bell-shaped flowers occur in loose, one-sided clusters at stem ends. Stems 8-10 inches long, bearing 6-8 clusters of flowers. Plant is a herbaceous perennial from a rhizome, classed as a monocotyledon, leaves mostly parallel veined. Flower fragrance is sweet, mild.
Availability :	Mainly spring but some year-round.
Flower Color :	White, pink.
Decorative Life :	3-6 days.
Ethylene Sensitivity :	More research needed
Ethylene Comments :	Likely to be ethylene sensitivity but unknown at this time. To be safe, treat with an anti-ethylene product.
Post Harvest Care Opportunities :	Recut stems under water and place into a fresh flower food solution. Flowers tend to wilt quickly if exposed to heat or poor air circulation, green buds may not open.
Storage Specifics :	30-32F for 2-3 weeks if rhizomes still are attached, store cut stems at 32-34F in water or dry for up to 5 days. At 36-40F, unopened flowers turned yellow, pathogen growth increased and vaselife decreased.
Tidbits :	From the Latin "convallis" (a valley), referring to where the plant is found. The specific epithet name majalis means May, in reference to when it flowers. Flowers are used in the perfume industry, rhizomes have medicinal properties. With over 3000 species, the lily family includes many medicinal and food species in addition to ornamental species. Some references suggest placing stems on ice to revive if limp. Single and double flower forms are available. More information available at: http://www.hoogasian.com/ and May Birth Month Flower

106th Observance of the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire

Hoogasian Flowers is honored to have our wreaths placed at Lotta's Fountain and at the Gold Fire Plug at Twentieth and Church Streets for the 106th observance of the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire. The above photo was taken yesterday afternoon at the Survivors' Lunch celebration. The centenarians (and Harold Hoogasian, who took the picture) did NOT make it to the 5:12am observances).

Announcing www.broadbandflowers.com is Hoogasian Flowers New e-Commerce Site!

Announcing Hoogasian Flowers has a NEW e-commerce site:

www.broadbandflowers.com

Make a point to bookmark our new online store today!

Although the old site is still functional,

new items and current specials will only be posted

at www.broadbandflowers.com

HOOGASIAN FLOWERS

You can order by phone (415) 229-2732

24 Hours a Day / 7 Days a Week/ 365 Days a Year

This is NOT an April Fool!

March Birth Month Flower is Daffodil

Daffodil

The birth flower for March is daffodil. In the language of flowers, daffodils symbolize chivalry, respect, modesty and faithfulness.
Daffodils form a group of large-flowered members of the genus Narcissus. Most daffodils look yellow, but yellow-and-white, yellow-and-orange, white-and-orange, pink, and lime-green cultivars also exist. Daffodils grow perennially from bulbs. In temperate climates they flower among the earliest blooms in spring: to this extent daffodils both represent and herald spring. They often grow in large clusters, covering lawns and even entire hillsides with yellow.
Daffodils belong to the genus Narcissus. Daffodil is the common English name for them all, and Narcissus is the Latin, botanical name for them all. Some people refer to daffodils as "jonquils", from the Spanish name for the flower.
The name of the flower is derived from an earlier "affodell", a variant of asphodel. The reason for the introduction of the initial "d" is not known, though from at least the sixteenth century "Daffadown Dilly" or "daffadowndilly" has appeared as a playful synonym of the name. What a fancy March birth flower.

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

Hoogasian Flowers Sponsors US Figure Skating Championships

Hoogasian Flowers was honored to provide the bouquets for the selection of champions at the US Figure Skating Championships in San Jose last month.

Carnation is January Birth Month Flower

Carnation is January Birth Month Flower

Carnation

Botanical Name :	Dianthus caryophyllus
Common Name :	Carnation, Standard Carnation
Product Use :	Cut Flower
Pronunciation :	dy-AN-thus ka-ree-AHF-i-lus
Family Roots :	Member of the Caryophyllaceae (pink family). Native from Southern Europe to India. Common relatives include baby's breath, lychnis, silene and sweet William.
Personality :	Flowers are up to 3 inches in diameter. Most flowers are double forms with many ruffled petals. Plant is a herbaceous perennial, classed as a dicotyledon, leaves not parallel veined. Some flowers are fragrant, clove-like.
Availability :	Year-round.
Flower Color :	Most but not blue and may bicolors.
Decorative Life :	Can last from 7-21 plus days depending on cultivar, harvest stage, flower food and/or anti-ethylene treatments. In addition, genetically engineered cultivars like 'Eilat' reportedly can last 24-26 days in water with no flower food or other chemical treatments.
Ethylene Sensitivity :	High
Ethylene Comments :	Ethylene accelerates petal wilting (sleepiness). Should be treated with an anti-ethylene product. Flowers exposed to short term water stress conditions become more sensitive to ethylene.
Post Harvest Care Opportunities :	Remove bottom leaves if present, recut stems under water and place into a fresh flower food solution. This species almost always responds well to under water cutting. Water stress symptoms are often hidden even though the flowers are being damaged. Specifically, water stress conditions can stimulate an earlier production of ethylene production enzymes that can become even more active after rehydration. Therefore, ethylene action inhibitors (but not synthesis inhibitors) can reduced the ethylene mediated negative effects associated with water stress. While MCP treatment can be very effective in preventing ethylene damage, petals recover about 50% of their ethylene sensitivity in 4 days whereas STS treatments have longer effectiveness. In another study, no differences were found between STS and MCP treatments. Cycloheximide is an antibiotic that works by inhibiting protein synthesis. It also happens to extend the life of carnations. Unfortunately, cycloheximide is not available for use in the floral industry and is only mentioned here in hopes that it will stimulate someone into finding a similar protein synthesis inhibitor that could be used by growers and/or florists.
Storage Specifics :	Bud-harvested flowers can be stored for up to 4 months at 31-33 F. Normal storage is best at 32-34 degrees F. When 'Imperial White' was held wet or dry between 32 and 50F, no difference in vaselife was noted between wet and dry at a given temperature. However, there was an advantage for wet holding when held at 55F. Therefore, dry storage/transport is recommended unless high temperatures (>40F) are possible. Pulsing freshly harvested bud cut flowers for 20 hours at 40F with either 10-20 ppm gibberellic acid (GA3) or a mixture of 5-10 ppm benzyladenine + 20 ppm naphthaleneacetic acid resulted in flowers that opened faster and laster longer after 5 weeks of dry storage at 32-34F. Some cultivars were damaged when stored at 32-33F for 3 weeks suggesting that some cultivars might be chill sensitive. Flowers should be treated with STS, MCP, AOA, or AVG propr to storage.
Preharvest & Harvest Factors:	Calyx splitting is an occasional problem, which is sometimes reduced by wrapping flowers in the bud stage with tape. Preharvest factors like greenhouse covering (glass is better), plant age (older is better), cultivar and time of year (fall is best) all can have significant effects on postharvest flower life. The higher the dry weight of a flower stem at the time of harvest, the longer the flower will last.
Tidbits :	Ingestion may cause minor illness. Frequent handling may cause dermatitis. The name carnation is from the Latin "carnis" meaning flesh, alluding to the pale pink color of the flower. In Greek "dianthus" means the flower of Jove. Carnations are said to have sprung up from the tears of Mary as she made her way to Calvary. The pink carnation became the symbol of mother-love and of Mother's Day, created in 1907 in Philadelphia. The scientific name is from the Greek "dios" (divine) and "anthos" (flower). Carnations are graded according to stem length and flower number for spray types. While they seemingly never wilt, they do suffer from water stress with a resulting increase in ethylene sensitivity and/or production and the damage induced by this gas. Carnation is the Birth Month Flower for January See More Birth Month Flowers: http://www.hoogasian.com/BirthMonthFlowers.html