News:

Today begins a peppering of holidays in Japan, four in a row, that the Japanese wisely round off as Golden Week. This is Showa Day, in homage to former Emperor Hirohito, born April 29, 1901. May 3 will be Constitution Day, and May 5, Children’s Day. The fourth occasion? We’ve discovered that under Japanese law “a day that falls between two national holidays (is declared) a national holiday” also. Now here’s a forward-thinking piece of legislation. May 4th, thus, will be “Greenery Day.”

In the Ginza district of Tokyo, widely referred to as “the most exclusive and expensive shopping area in Japan,” they really get down on Showa Day, covering Miyuki-dori Street with carpets of tulip petals. The flowers “appear on the 300-meter long avenue from Nishi-ginza dori (Sotobori-dori) to Ginza-dori. 200,000 tulips will arrive from Toyama prefecture early in the morning.” Seems to us that the colors look all the more saturated within the city’s architectural canyons. You can read more about the Ginza district, some of its landmarks and swankiness here.

“Showa” is the official name for Emperor Hirohito’s reign - 1926-1989. Since he presided over Japan during World War II, Hirohito’s legacy is fraught with international tensions. Maybe that’s why, after his death, “Showa Day” was downplayed and the more politically neutral “Greenery Day” played up. Ah yes - where directness poses a threat, plants and flowers often are stuffed into the breach.

The tulip petal carpets along Miyuk-dori Street of course serve a balder purpose also: It’s a holiday, people. Bring your wallet and come on down!

Cut Flowers a Growing Force in Agriculture
Mike Hodgson, Associate Editor, www.santamariatimes.com

Cut flowers are becoming a larger part of Santa Barbara County’s agricultural output, even though overall greenhouse operations and the number of acres in production shrank slightly last year. Lilies, roses, tulips, delphiniums and snapdragons pushed up in the ranking of the top 30 products generating more than $1 million in value last year, as vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage and spinach dropped in value, along with lemons and cattle. Greenhouse area devoted to cut flowers fell by 473,735 square feet last year, and 1.6 fewer acres of field space was devoted to the crop. Yet the total value of cut flowers rose by about $1 million, from nearly $94.5 million to just less than $95.5 million.

Agriculture officials say growers are planting new varieties to compete with cheaper imports coming up from Central America and South America. Guy Tingos, the county’s deputy agriculture commissioner with 20-plus years of experience, said chrysanthemums, roses and baby’s breath used to be the leading cut flowers. But now, flowers such as dahlias and larkspur are gaining footholds in the local industry. For example, for the first time, dahlias made the list of million-dollar producers on the 2006 Agricultural Production Report. Usually, at least five growers have to be producing a specific variety before it gets listed separately, Tingos said. That’s to protect business confidentiality, he explained. With fewer than five, it would be too easy for growers to figure out how much business their competitors are doing. That could explain why some cut-flower growers - especially in the Carpinteria area - are tight-lipped about what they’re growing and where their industry is headed.

Several Carpinteria area growers either declined to discuss the industry or didn’t return phone calls. One grower said that’s to be expected. “We’re kind of a little fish bowl here,” explained Karen Graf of Hilltop Flowers in Carpinteria, who declined to even say what the company grows. But she said Hilltop Flowers is not expanding the varieties it produces: “Probably, if anything, we’re not growing things we used to grow. “In this industry, it’s hard to be on the cutting edge because everything is already being done elsewhere,” she explained. “You can only invent so many flowers.” Instead, she said, the company is trying to be more efficient and “grow things well.”

More efficiency could help account for the greater value coming from less growing area as well as the higher prices commanded by less common varieties that aren’t flooding in as imports. Glad-A-Way Gardens, on East Clark Avenue in Orcutt, is considering expanding its line of products, but that’s not to compete with cheaper imports. Instead, it would be to supply Por La Mar Nursery, with which the farm became associated after it was purchased by new owners three years ago, said Froylan Vasquez, general manager and vice president. Glad-A-Way’s main products are its own varieties of gladiolus, harvested from about May through December, and orchidiola - a hybrid of iris and gladiolus - harvested from about December through May.

But to supply Por La Mar, the company is testing some other lines, he said. Vasquez also said growers in Central America and South America are having their own problems, which is helping the cut-flower growers along the California coast. “They’re having problems with viruses, and even in the South and on the East Coast they’re having problems,” he said. “So on this side of the country, the growers are adding a few more acres.” Around Lompoc, many of the flower growers focus on producing seeds rather than cut flowers. The number of harvested acres of flower seed grew slightly last year, and the value rose by almost $100,000. But in the Lompoc area, there’s been a public perception that falling demand for seeds has the growers converting to cut flowers. That’s not quite accurate, said Jack Bodger, owner of Bodger Seeds. “That’s a pretty broad statement,” Bodger said. “In reality, the flower seed producers in the Lompoc Valley - and there are three farms - all three are continuing with business as usual.

“The long-term trend is that seed production has been in decline gradually and cut-flower production ... certainly has become a large activity in the Lompoc Valley,” he said. “But I wouldn’t say much has changed in the last few years.” He said Bodger has no plans to produce cut flowers. “That’s just not our focus. We’re just not interested in that.” But the company, which on Saturday opened its doors to the public for its annual tours, has expanded somewhat beyond producing just seeds. “In general, everyone is looking for something new in the industry,” Bodger said. “So five or six years ago, we started producing some varieties from cuttings. That’s a new direction for us.”

Bodger explained that some hybrid varieties will never “be true” when grown from seeds. Hybrid plants produced after years of careful breeding just won’t produce uniform plants from their seeds. So the company provides uniform hybrids for planting by propagating them in tissue culture laboratories and selling what are called “unrooted cuttings,” young plants grown in the company’s facility in Chile and exported to the United States and elsewhere. But Bodger Seeds does continually search for new varieties in response to customer demand. In fact, this year, the company is introducing 24 new seed lines and 22 new botanical lines. Bodger said some of the popular new lines are the gerbera Spinner series and such plants as agastache and anigozanthos, which are drought-tolerant and come in interesting colors. Also popular are foliage plants derived from the sweet potato family that offer different colors of foliage, from green to bronze and speckled.

News Bits...
From www.wffsa.org

Consumers to Spend $2.3 Billion on Flowers for Mother’s Day
Shoppers plan to spend nearly $2.3 billion on flowers for Mother’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2007 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch.
Consumers are expected to spend an average of $139.14 on the holiday compared to last year’s $122.16. Here is where consumers purchase Mother’s Day gifts:
• 37.5% at specialty stores, such as a florist, jeweler or electronics store
• 24% at discount stores
• 29% at department stores
• 2.9 % from catalogs
• 20% online, compared to only 16.9 percent who did so last year.

Cold Chain White Paper Updated
Updated data on the effects of temperature on rose and carnation respiration have been added to the white paper “Improving the Cold Chain for Cut Flowers & Potted Plants” by Dr. George Staby and Dr. Michael Reid.

Roses and carnations respire about three times faster when stored/shipped at 50°F (10°C), which is an all too common shipping temperature, compared to their ideal storage/shipping temperature of 32°F (0°C). This means that roses and carnations deteriorate about three times faster at the higher temperature with corresponding vase life reductions. When stored/shipped at 68°F (20°C), the rate of respiration is about 27 times higher than at 32°F (0°C) with a corresponding significant decrease in vase life.

Status of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) for Floral Crops
Go to almost any grocery store and you will see all sorts of MAP examples of food crops. Probably the best examples are the packaged salad mixes produced by companies like Fresh Express and Dole. The unique “breathing” capabilities of these special bags result in longer lasting and better tasting salads for consumers.

Similar technologies have been tested on floral crops with some success. Positive results have been achieved with certain foliage plants, tulip bulbs, and cut flowers like carnation, anthurium, and daffodil. However, using MAP techniques for crops such as roses have often resulted in damaged flowers.

If We Could Only Sell Flowers Like They Do in Europe
The Flower Council of Holland ranks the United States 17th in per capita consumption of cut flowers in 2005 with $28 (US). The top five countries are:
Switzerland - $107
Norway - $ 79
Holland - $ 74
Japan - $72
Austria - $59

There is a lot of talk about flower consumption in Russia. The per capita consumption of cut flowers in Russia is $4. They are ranked 24th.

Proflowers Best at Converting Visitors to Buyers
Proflowers.com is the number one ranked US online retailer for converting visitors to their website to buyers with 24.5%. The average conversion rate is 2% to 3%.

Colombian Growers Receive Environmental Awards
Jardines de los Andes (Floral Supplier for Gardens America) and Flores de Funza are being awarded the 2007 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They are receiving the award for their support of United Nations Industrial Development Organization projects, their sharing of pest management strategies, and the outstanding level of sustainability achieved in their flower farms.

Domestic Shipments & Imports of Cut Flowers Up Slightly Overall
The Agricultural Marketing Service U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that domestic shipments and imports of cut flowers shipments are up over last year. Roses are up, carnations are down and pompons are down year-to-date. To see the report, visit http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/WA_FV281.txt.

Floral Art in Bloom for Garden Tour
The Redlands Horticultural and Improvement Society’s garden tour April 28 and 29 will include floral designs paired with floral paintings at the Redlands Art Association Gallery
www.redlandsdailyfacts.com
Photo: Sweeping beds of colorful blooms welcome visitors to the garden of Dennis and Karen Hansberger, one of seven Redlands gardens on the society’s garden tour (Courtesy photos)

The Redlands Horticultural and Improvement Society has again joined forces with the Redlands Art Association to showcase the talents of local commercial florists and artists during the 95th annual Flower Show and Garden Tour which will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29.

Commercial florists have been invited to create interpretative floral designs of floral paintings hanging in the Redlands Art Association Gallery. As a part of the garden tour, these floral works of art, along with the paintings they represent, will be on display from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 28, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 29.

The garden tour starts at the at the flower show held in the glass-enclosed ESRI Cafe at 380 New York St. and the Redlands Art Association Gallery in downtown Redlands at 215 E. State St.

Ten florists are planning their floral interpretations. Bob Luna of Fleur de Lis Florist, who has exhibited at the Alexandria Museum in Louisiana, will design for Redlands show for the first time this year.

Michael Lopez of Flowers on Vine has enjoyed being a part of this program before and is looking forward to using his creative talents again this year, as are Annmarie Smith of Hockridge Florist and Sandy and Sarah of Redlands Tennessee Florist.

Other floral designers, including Pam Null and Barbara Beddoes and florists from City Florist, Conroy’s Florist, Enchanted Florist and Sunny Originals, will add their skills to the floral displays.

Tickets, which include both days of the garden tour and the flower show, are $8 for adults and free for children younger than 13 with an adult. Tickets are available in Redlands at Gerrard’s Market, Precious Times Antiques and Redlands Estate Sale Consignments and will be available at the flower show.

Since its founding in 1889, the Redlands Horticultural and Improvement Society - the oldest garden club in California and one of the largest garden clubs in the West - has held more than 117 flower shows in Redlands. The society began presenting annual flower shows in 1913.

This annual event allows members of the community including amateurs, home gardeners, experienced experts and junior gardeners (particularly those of elementary and middle school age) to publicly display their individual flowers, plants, unique specimens and floral arrangements as well as compete for awards by certified judges.

The Horticultural Society is a member of the National Garden Clubs Inc. and a charter member of the California Garden Clubs Inc. This flower show is a standard flower show based on the standards of the Nation Garden Clubs Inc.

Information: (909) 793-1016, 792-4385 or www.rhis.org

Rose’s History Dates Back Millions of Years
Bev Davis, Register-Herald Senior Editor
Photo: C.L. Garvin, The Register-Herald

For centuries, roses have inspired romance and brought beauty to those who have received them. Many people do not realize, however, this flower’s history goes back millions of years.

Consider these facts compiled by the Society of American Florists:

• Recently, anthropologists discovered the fossilized remains of wild roses more than 40 million years old.
• The world’s oldest living rose is thought to be more than 1,000 years old and continues to thrive on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral of Germany.
• The rose is the official national floral emblem of the United States.
• According to Greek mythology, the goddess Aphrodite gave the rose its name.
• Although the rose bears no fruit, the rose hips - the part left on the plant after a rose has finished blooming - contains more Vitamin C than almost any other fruit or vegetable.
• According to myth, the Romans believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell as she mourned the loss of her beloved Adonis. Myth also has it that Venus’ son, Cupid, accidentally shot arrows into the rose garden when a bee stung him. It was the sting of the arrows that caused the roses to grow thorns. When Venus walked through the garden and pricked her foot on a thorn, it was the droplets of her blood that turned the roses red.
• Dolly Parton is known not only for her music and theme park but for an orange-red rose variety that bears her name.
• Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, grew more than 250 varieties of roses.