Here are some simple rules to follow when cleaning silk flowers and greens. Follow these rules and silk flowers, plants, or trees should last for several years.

1. Try to place your silk flowers, plants, and trees in a location that is cool and out of direct sunlight. Hot temperatures and direct sunlight can cause colors to fade.
2. Do not use a vacuum to remove dust. The vacuum may cause the petals and leaves to rip apart or fall off.
3. Instead of a vacuum, use a small feather duster or soft cloth. Done a weekly basis, this will prevent an excessive dust build up.
4. You can also used canned air to help dust. To get better results, use the feather duster first. This will loosen dirt and make it easier to blow away.
5. If you choose to wash your silk flowers, greens, and trees, make sure you do not use soap. Also, always use COLD water.
6. When drying them, place them out of sunlight and allow them to air dry in a shaded area. Using a dryer or the sun can cause them to fade or fray.
7. When not in use, cover them with some kind of protective layer. Plastic trash bags work well.

See our silk flowers, silk greens, and silk trees.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, Tom!

This sale excludes our potted silks and our custom silk flower arrangements, but includes all of our silk flower stems. So print out your coupon below, come into the store, and start shopping!

See you around the store.

The most interesting flower in the world: I don't always grow flowers, but when I do, I make them proteas

Proteas are ancient. I know I thought magnolias were old, but proteas make magnolias look like the new kid on the block. Ancestors of the protea are 300 million years old. Wikipedia told me that proteas were native to Gondwanaland. I thought that wikipedia had made up a word, but Gondwanaland was actually a real place. When all of the 7 continents were grouped together forming Pangea, the southernmost ‘supercontinent’ was Gondwanaland. If you’re wondering, the other supercontinent was called Laurasia, although I don’t think anyone at the time called it Laurasia since it was mostly non-speaking amphibians and invertebrates.

So they’re really old. They’re also a controversial national symbol of South Africa. During the Apartheid era, most of the sports teams were represented by a Springbok, which is an antelope. Even though the Springbok mascot came about before Apartheid, it had developed a close association with Apartheid, and it was unpopular with anti-Apartheid groups. The protea, native to Southern Africa, was proposed as an alternative that would appeal to all South Africans. The protea is now the symbol of all South African sports teams, except the rugby team, which has received a special exemption.

Over 300 million years old and still causing problems today. Not bad for one flower.

-Chris

Thanks to Wikipedia for all the information about the symbolism of Apartheid and Gondwanaland. Without you, Wikipedia, I wouldn’t know the adjective Gondwanan. Wikipedia can be found on the internet at www.wikipedia.org

All snowballs are hydrangeas, but not all hydrangeas are snowballs

Being a curious person, I was still unsatisfied. Viburnum is the name of a genus, and does not refer to a specific flower. There are about 150 species of viburnums, so which one is the snowball? I did a quick inspection through the listed species to see what I could find, and it looked pretty similar to viburnum plicatum and viburnum macrocephalum. Viburnum plicatum is also know as the Japanese Snowball Bush, and I believe these are the ones we have.

So what have I learned? If you call something a rose, or a viburnum, or any other genus or family name, it’s a pretty broad term. When I read about orchids, I learned that there were over 20,000 species of orchid. However, if you say, ‘I’d really like a viburnum plicatum’, that might not get you very far either. Ultimately, the name doesn’t matter too much (‘a rose by any other name … ‘). It doesn’t really matter if I can’t figure out exactly which species of viburnum the snowball is. You know how it looks, and if it fits in with what you’re designing, and that’s what matters.

Chris

Thanks to Botanica and Wikipedia for various facts about the viburnum or snowball. I’m not sure where Botanica is at the moment, but I bet wikipedia can be found at www.wikipedia.org.

This is a spider mum, which would beat an actual spider in a Legs Having contest

The confusion over the Chrysanthemums name arose from a need to reclassify members of the genus. Botanists were using the term Chrysanthemum to describe too broad a group of plants, so several new genera were created (bonus fact: genera is the plural of genus). This included renaming the ‘florists’s chrysanthemum’ or to the Dendranthema. In 1999, a ruling was made by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, naming the defining species chrysanthemum indicum, thereby restoring the florist’s chrysanthemum to it’s place in the Chrysanthemum genus.

I do have one bone to pick with the Spider Mum, which is a really cool looking mum with tendril-like petals. I think it would be much more appropriately named the Octopus Mum, because its petals extend in all directions and orientations, like the tentacles of an octopus floating through the water. This would be easily shortened to Octo Mum, which could have been a great nickname for an exotic looking flower. Unfortunately, due to the exploits of the Octo Mom, that ship has probably sailed, and I guess it’s time to accept the Spider Mum name.

-Chris

Botancia provided details about the naming and renaming of the Chrysanthemum, along with its usual supply of very colorful photos. Botanica can be found opened, somewhere near my desk.
Wikipedia provided an assist with the naming and renaming details. Wikipedia can be found on the internet at www.wikipedia.org. ]]> http://www.shinodadesigncenter.net/2011/06/12/chrysanthemum-silk-flower-stem-of-the-day/feed/ 0 http://www.shinodadesigncenter.net/2011/06/11/ranunculus-silk-flower-stem-of-the-day/ http://www.shinodadesigncenter.net/2011/06/11/ranunculus-silk-flower-stem-of-the-day/#comments Sat, 11 Jun 2011 12:01:52 +0000 Chris http://www.shinodadesigncenter.net/?p=688 Continue reading →]]> You might know today’s Silk Flower Stem of the Day better as the buttercup, but on our website, we call it the Ranunculus. While I like the mysterious sounding ranunculus better than buttercup, I agree that ‘Build me up, Ranunculus’, probably would not have been as big a hit.

Three Ranunculi?

Despite the sweet sounding name, buttercups are poisonous (this is not a problem if you buy silk buttercups ). Livestock who eat them can get pretty sick, although slugs and snails seem to have no problem destroying them. Botanica notes that buttercups are linked to home remedies for arthritis, sciatica, rheumatism, skin conditions, and the removal of warts, which is especially interesting given that you should probably use gloves when handling them for long periods. I guess if you’re going to be an attractive looking flower, you better have some good defense mechanisms.

The name ‘buttercup’ has a straightforward origin, coming from the cup shape of the flower combined with the butter-like color (and certainly has nothing to do with a buttery taste). Ranunculus is a little less self explanatory, unless your conversational Latin is better than most. Rana means ‘ frog’ in Latin, and the culus ending means ‘little’. That makes sense because the Ranunculus looks a lot like a little frog. Well, no, but buttercups were often found in bogs or other places where frogs hung out, hence the name. Pretty weak if you ask me, but the Romans got there first, so I’ll give it to them.

I didn’t find any meanings for the Ranunculus (no fan decks down here in SD), so I’ve come up with one on my own. The Ranunculus was cursed with an ugly sounding name, and it’s poisonous, except to slugs, aphids, and snails, which are all trying to kill it. Through all of those faults, it is still a popular flower, so I’ll say that the buttercup is a symbol of triumph against the odds or being the underdog. And like the Romans, I got here first, so that’s what it’s going to mean.

-Chris

Thanks to Botanica for telling me that the buttercup is a poisonous flower named after a frog. Botanica can currently be found in San Diego.
Thanks to wikipedia for various minutiae. Wikipedia can be found on the internet at www.wikipedia.org.

Speaking of the black dahlia, some of you might have read or seen The Black Dahlia. This true story tells the tale of Elizabeth Short, a struggling actress who leads an unstable life. She is tragically murdered during a zoot suit riot. The press called her The Black Dahlia because of her stunning looks and treacherous nature. As you can see, the name is quite fitting.  

The dahlia comes in 30 different species, with 10 main groups. Some of these groups include waterlily, single-flowered, and ball. I personally like pairing dahlias with white calla lilies. They add a touch of elegance to any special event. Perhaps if you are throwing a 14th wedding anniversary bash, which dahlias are associated with, you should keep these flowers in mind.

-Lynne

Thanks to John Henry’s Floral Fan Deck for dahlia symbolism. Floral Fan Deck can be found at Shinoda Design Center in the front case, and soon, on our webpage.
Thanks to wikipedia for some details about The Black Dahlia. Wikipedia, we’d be lost without you. As usual, wikipedia can be found on the internet at www.wikipedia.org.