In case you hadn’t already realised I love flowers. This fact may not be completely obvious but then again, take a look at my name- Lilian Bonsai. My love of flowers is practically genetically hardwired! Over the years I have picked up a lot of flower information and care tips and because not everyone has green thumbs like I do, I’m here to help you with a few tips and things that I’ve learnt!
Flower Care Tips:
- For cut flowers, make sure that you change the water every 3 days or so. Also to make sure that your flowers bloom for longer trim a centimeter of the stem when you change the water.
- Don’t put your flowers near fruit bowls or smoke near them if you can, the gases released from the fruit and smoke will cause your flowers to wilt faster.
- Add a copper coin (SA 5 cent coin) to your vase of flowers to make your flowers last longer. I don’t know why this works so well but it really does!
- If you have succulent plants at home and they kind of grow all long and gangly then it’s ok to prune the top leaves and stem. This will help your succulent flourish and grow better.
- Variegated house plants (the white and green plants) need more sunlight so make sure that your plant is in a sunny part of your home!
Flower information and Facts:
- One of the largest flowers in the world is called the corpse flower. It gets its name because it smells like rotting meat.
- Plants can photosynthesize due to cells called chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll; this is what makes plants green. Sun strikes the chloroplasts and combines with carbon dioxide that plants get from their leaves, and water that plants get through their roots, to produce sugar, or glucose. This is the plant’s food, and this gives the plant energy to grow and produce flowers.
- The Bird of Paradise is a beautiful, oddly shaped plant that resembles a colorful tropical bird.
- Some flowers can be eaten! Flowers of the squash flowers, such as pumpkin blossoms, can be fried in a batter and eaten. Violas, nasturtiums, pansies, and violets can be candied or frozen into ice cubes. Dandelion flowers can be made into jellies, added to salads, or made into tea.
