With several groups of visitors these next few weeks, I splurged on fresh flowers. If you're looking for flowers which last a long time and hold to their stems try alstroemeria. Their vase life is up to two weeks. They've been in the vase for a week now and are still very fresh looking.
Years ago I took several flower arranging classes and learned several tips to keep flowers fresh longer in the vase. Cut the stems on an angle; place them in room temperature water immediately afterwards; change the water often; and remove leaves below the water level since they may cause the water to get slimy. I cut the flowers beside the vase off for the photo, they didn't drop on their own.
Alstroemeria doesn't have a fragrance, but the showy flowers make up for that fact. I think the orange color of these complements the vase I chose to display them. These flowers are also known as Peruvian Lily or Lily of the Incas.
Something I didn't know about the alstroemeria plant is the leaf is resupinate, that is, the leaf twists from the stem and the part facing up is actually the bottom of the leaf. I had to go look at the leaves to see this botanical uniquess. I'm working on a series of pots, but have much experimenting and details to work out before they are ready to post. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated.
Alstroemeria is new to me and I just love the blossoms. I checked and it will grow here. Will put it on my garden menu. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Patti, thanks, I was reading and it said that it puts up lots of rhizomes from one, up to 80 talk about multiplying, worth it to get one and have them multiply in the ground. Do you have gophers? if so put it in an aviary wire basket so the gophers don't eat the rhizomes.
ReplyDeleteYour vase looks like it's giving the bouquet a hug. They work very well together.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, thanks, function wise, this vase has an open collar and the flowers are able to flow out a bit. I may have to make more of this shape with an even wider collar.
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