Vase Pink

29 Oct, 2005 in art pottery by admin

Vase Pink

Fresh Focus

A Standby Steps into the Limelight

Remember when gyp was just gyp? "It used to be that we never knew what we were handling," says Gay Smith of Chrysal USA. "Now there is variety awareness."

The change came in 1997 with the introduction of breeder and propagator of young plants for flower growers. With its multitude of small white flowers on sturdy stems, Million Stars quickly achieved market dominance, accounting for as much as three-quarters of the world market in 2006, according to Danziger.

Today, however, Million Stars is getting some competition. There are more than 10 varieties on the market, ranging from Danziger's New Love and My Pink to Esmeralda's prize-winning Overtime.

Not coincidentally, these new varieties have showed up at a time when designers are using gypsophila in new ways. The traditional Victorian filler is now a mss flower yielding abstract texture. The change reflects design trends in general, but it also reflects the physical properties of the new gyp.

Older varieties of gypsophila had long, thin laterals that pointed in all directions and were vulnerable to bending and breaking. "The visual impact was that they looked more like weeds, with the stems up and down and the flowers stretched out over a large area," points out Peter Ullrich of breeder, grower and distributor Esmeralda farms.

By contrast, successful new varieties (like Esmeralda's Overtime, a two-time blue-ribbon winner at the Outstanding Varieties Competition sponsored annually by the Society of American Fforists) have a different branching structure, with shorter, sturdy laterals that point upward, yielding a visual impression of fullness. Overtime is also remarkable for it's large, brilliantly white flowers.

Good genes plus TLC

Examine one of those flowers close up and you will see that it resembles a miniature carnation. Gypsophila and carnations are indeed close relatives; both are members of the Caryopyllaceae family. Like carnations, gyp is sensitive to ethylene and should always be treated with an ethylene inhibitor for enhanced vase life.

Long vase life is just one of the traits sought by breeders; others include straight, sturdy, upright stems and fluffy, open flowers that are brilliantly white or strikengly pink. For any of these desirable traits to manifest, however, appropriate conditions must apply. To begin with, gypsopihla prefers a chalky soil loaded with calcium. Indeed, the very name gypsophila is related to the word gypsum (a form of calcium) and means "calcium lover."

"Calcuim is a huge player in cell wall formation," Gay Smith explains. "You've seen gyp where the immature tips are floppy rather than straight. That happens to gypsophila when there's not enough calcium in the soil."

Another problem you may have encountered is difficulty in getting all of the flowers on a stem of the gypsophila open. "Growers need to harvest gyp early, when only about 20 percent of the blooms are open," says Gay. "They want to get it all out of the field because it's so vulnerable that an early morning rain could cause considerable damage. But even more than that, they want to harvest it. Once the bees hit it, pollination triggers the flower's senescence.

"So the growers cut it quite tight, get it out of the field and put it in STS and sugar water solution, under lights, for two to five days to let the florets open. Then they grade and bunch it."

When it arrives in the shop, some of the florets may still be closed. A traditional remedy is to mist the flowers and cover them with a plastic bag, which creates a mini greenhouse to force the blooms open. "I never went for that myself," says Gay; "It's too labor intensive. I would just give the flowers food. Gyp is one of those flowers that need a lot of sugar to get all those florets open. Yet a lot of wholesalers never touch gyp. They open the box, fluff it up, and make sure there's no botrytis, but rarely do they cut and process it. So, if you want it open, all you have to do is give it some sugar."

Flower food and STS solution, of course, are of little benefit if the thin stems are blocked because of microbes in the water. Many retailers use and recommend bleach in the water to forestall stem blockage.

Just enough

Baby's breath is particularly sensitive to water stress, according to the flower and Plant Care Manual written by Gearge Staby for the society of American Florists. The flowers and stems must be kept well hydrated. In addition to the normal procedures (recutting stems, using clean buckets and preservative solutions), extra care should be taken to store gypsophila under high relative humidity.

On the other hand, too much moisture-particularly if the flowers are not kept cool-can make gypsophila vulnerable to the fungal infection botrytis. This is why, if boxes are not precooled on the farm, prior to shipping, gyp may arrive in the shop soggy in the middle of the box. Microperforated sleeves help the bunches to breath and actually wick excess moisture away from the flowers.

Imported gypsophila typically arrives with every last leaf stripped from the stems. This is in part because the leaves are suceptible to infestation by leaf miners, a common pest that, if found in a box off shore, could cause the entire shipment to be rejected and destroyed. The leafstripping is, however, also a service to retailers, who generally prefer to recieve gyp without foliage. Stems of gypsophila vary considerably in size and mass. Stems of Million Stars, for example, range from 15 to 45 grams; steams of New Love, with it's somewhate larger flowers, from 50 to 60 grams. So it's not surprising that bunches are standardized by weight, rather than by the number of stems per bunch. A bunch of Million Stars weighs 250 grams; other varieties may come in 350-gram bunches.

Now that you hace a choice, why not take advantage of it? Order different varities of gypsophila and compare. If after a week one is brighter, fuller, and longer-lasting, it's probably a good value even if it's a little more expensive than other varieties of gyp. "Customer satisfaction is the only way to succeed," says Esmeralda's Peter Ullrich. "Give them a product with reliable quality, and they'll come back for more."

For more information or to place an order in the Tampa, Florida area please visit:http://www.skipsfloristandchristmashouse.com/

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How can I redecorate my closet?

I have a fairly nice walk in closet. HOWWEVER It is whiter than Eminem and theclothes racks are an ugly purply pink color. I've removed sereral shelves, cleaned out all stuffed animals ect and cleaed out 9 shoe boxes. How can i spend little to no money and still have a high fashionista closet? I have a nice black vase that I can put on a shelve and a few paintings anyway any tips?

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Antique French pink porcelain vase clock C1900