Clare Florist Blog

Weird and Wonderful Wednesday Flowers - The Pink Puya

Do you love, rare flowers? Have a thing for interesting looking plants? Well each Wednesday we bring you a short post about a rare flower, that, hopefully you won’t have seen before. This week our focus is on the beautifully coloured and all round intriguing Pink Puya (Puya dyckioides)

The Pink Puya is a member of the Bromelaid family, a group of plants which grow nearly exclusively in the New world tropics and sub tropics with this particular soecies being found in Argentina. If you can find them they are generally easy to raise being able to grow in pots which can be moved indoors for winter as well as in ordinary cactus soils which is unlike their pineapple relatives. This exotic plant will have no problems with temperatures around 30-35^oC and can survive down to temperatures as low –6^oC making it particularly versatile to swings in temperature. It enjoys plenty of sunshine but in areas of warmer afternoon temperatures would be very grateful for some afternoon shade.

Over its first few years the Pink Puya produces large arching leaves measuring around a metre in length and a flower stalk which protrudes outwards to a similar length. At around 6-7 years old the plant should be close to its flowering size where the top two feet of stalk will produce stunning flowers off around an inch long with the colours varying from vibrant combinations of pinks, greens and blues in its infancy to dark and glowing reds as they mature. Most species of Puya bloom only in the spring and have large spines which can make them difficult to look after, however this species can bloom from early spring to late fall and has much smaller spines.

Overall these are a beautiful plant to view, with a stunning variety of colours.  If you can find one and put in the time and patience you’ll be rewarded by a truly wonderful plant. 

Tips to keeping your Orchid alive

Orchids are a one of the largest families of flowering plants. With over 22,000 accepted species and being capable of surviving in nearly every type of habitat across the globe it is a wonder many people struggle to keep them alive. Here were going to give a few simple tips to help make sure your orchid continues to flower over and over again.

 

Giving too much love

One of the first problems many people face is they are to kind too there orchid, over watering it and placing it in direct sunlight under the assumption that they are native to warm tropical climates and this is what they like. Unfortunately this is primary reason why orchids fail to live up to many peoples expectations as over watering or watering to frequently will kill the roots. The general rule of thumb is an orchid only needs watering every 5-12 days with such a large variance taking into account factors such as the location, the species, the room temperature and the time of year.

Each species of orchid falls into three basic types, those that like to be kept moist, those that like moisture during active growth and those that should be kept nearly dry between watering's. The easiest way to find out which category your orchid falls into is to ask for watering instructions when you buy it.

 

Lighting the way

Orchid's like all plants need light to photosynthesise and create energy, the right amount of light coupled with the right amount of water will produce a happy orchid. However when your orchid fails to bloom it is most likely due to insufficent light. A good indicator for the correct amount of light is an orchids leaf color. A dark green leaf suggests the orchid isn't receiving enough light where as a red/green leaf color suggests to much. The best location is in a south or west facing window where it should receive strong but be placed in preferably indirect light.

 

If all else fails

If your orchid will just not flower  but has thick green leaves and a strong stem cut the stem up high just below the lowest bloom and just above a  node. This will allow the plant to produce a new flowering branch at this location. However if your orchid has thin wilted leaves then you should  conserve energy to replenish its leaves by not flowering straight away, with careful watering and fertilising the stem will grow back into shape allow for flowering in the future from a brand new stem. This however can be a slow process as the orchid can take up to a year to regrow.

'World's smelliest flower' disappoints Botanics

Here in Edinburgh we are lucky enough to have access to one of the world’s finest Botanic gardens in the form of the Royal Botanical Gardens just south of the city center.  This weekend the record breaking Amorphophallus titanum, which has been the center of attention due the possibility of a rare flowering, has failed to bloom ending months of anticipation. Known as the Corpse flower for its unique scent that smells like a decaying mammal, it is considering one of the most foul smelling plants on Earth. It, however, rarely flowers in the wild and even less so in captivity, but in April botanists prediction that this summer could see such a rare event occur created a flurry of excitement. However over the weekend the 153kg giant opened up to reveal, to the displeasure of all, a 14ft leaf and not the flower everyone had hoped for.  All hope is not lost though, as the Botanics predicates that we could see the first blooming of the Amorphophallus titanum plant as early as March 2013, so keep those fingers crossed and souvenir t-shirts at the ready.

Picture from www.bbc.co.uk

 

 

Disaster Strikes! But the Daves carry on...

 

If you've been keeping up with our blog or some of our Twitter news, you'll know that this is the week of the big fundraising event - our very own Dave M, and friend Dave B, set off from London on Saturday on their cycle back to Edinburgh in aid of two fantastic charities: Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres and the Lothian Autistic Society.

Three days in and everything was going smoothly - They were making good time and not feeling too weary from their efforts...

 

But as they neared Sheffield, they hit a bump - or rather, a tram line - in the road, and disaster struck when Dave M caught his front wheel in the tram lines, causing him to go over the bars.

Now sporting a fractured elbow and various nasty cuts and bruises, poor Dave's left devastated at having to give up the remainder of the cycle. Determined to carry on and make it all the way home, Dave B will continue the cycle alone, with Dave M lending plenty of moral support from the safety of the backup van.  Let's hope the rest of the trip is a bit less eventful!

They're now over halfway through but still some long cycles ahead, so please send them your comments and words of support to spur them along!

Friday Fun

This week I came across some amazing pics which made me smile, all showing that lots of animals love flowers just as much as we do! Here are a couple of my favourites...

 

Needing a bit of Friday Fun? Why not take some time out today for a quick game of Hangman or Noughts & Crosses and see if you can beat the computer?

As Dave prepares to head off to London tonight ready to start the long cycle back tomorrow morning for Maggie's Centres and the Lothian Autistic Society, here's some Friday sillyness to give you a bit of a giggle - it's the video we made in support of Dave's cycle, and what fun we had putting it all together!