Arrangements and Plants

Orchids are plants that love indirect light meaning bright areas where the sun does not have direct contact with the plant itself. Orchids have a long flowering period of 3 to 6 months if taken care of properly. The plants will rebloom if kept watered and kept in indirect/filtered light. Most will respike when the days become cooler and start to lengthen after our winter solstice.

The best way to water an orchid is by giving it a  shot glass full of water near the roots of the plant once every 3 days. That’s just enough water to keep them sustained to continue its flowering cycle.

Ice cubes although used are not good for the plant over time. Ice can kill tender root tips and cause freezer burns on leaves and shoots. If you see excessive yellowing of the lower leaves, ice may have contributed to this.

 When shopping for air plants at Rainforest, you will notice there is a variety to choose from depending on the size and shape. The way they grow depends on where you place them for light setting. It’s a good idea to put the plants that you get from us in bright but not direct sunlight and slowly get them adjusted to brighter light conditions. This will prevent them from getting sunburned and will keep your plant healthy. The white leafed forms require brighter light and better air circulation than greener leafed types.

Rain water is the best possible water to give an air plant. If it’s windy in your area you can water them more often. Its generally a good idea to mist the air plants every 2 to 3 days or when they're dry. Air plants in a glass terraria should be watered with an eye dropper or a paint brush. Misting these will cause spotting on the clear glass. Touch the leaves and wet a different area the next time you water them.

Succulents are mesophylls which store their water in their leaves, roots and stems. These plants come from arid zones where rainfall is limited. Indoor watering should be limited to the occsional drying out of the media and when there is sufficient warmth and air circulation. Less is better for this group of plants. Lighting is the key, as well as air circulation and a well draining media. Most stores grow succulents in peat moss which is really not beneficial to these plants as it is acidic and breaks down too fast. Changing your media to an alkaline mix will get your plants to actually grow instead of melt. 

Watering succulents should best be done in the morning and exposed to the highest light and air circulation possible. Constantly having wet soil will lead to root rot. So let it dry before watering again. 

Succulents are NOT indoor plant materials and are used only to accent an arrangement or plant design.

Triopical cut flowers include true "tropical" and subtemperate varieties. The true tropicals are gingers, heliconias, anthuriums, bromeliads, some orchids, etc. Subtemperates include proteas, high elevation orchids such as cymbidiums, etc. the general requirement for fresh cut flowers is to recut the stem ends at a sharp angle every few days, but if you are changing the water regularly, you don't need to recut stems so often. When changing the water, be sure to wash out your vases as slime bacteria can quickly change fresh water into sour water. Also washing flower stems from slime also helps.  Misting glossy flowers/foliages also aids in the fresh quality of these flowers. Some flowers such as orchids, anthuriums are hydrophyllic. This means that they can absorb water directly through their tissue (i.e. petals, stems, etc.) and if they appear wilted, soaking them will bring them back from their withered state. 

Temperate flowers include flowers that grow warm during the day, but night time temperatures drop at least 20 degrees creating a cooling rest dormancy that makes these flowers last better. In Hawai'i. our warm days and nights doesn't give these flowers a dormant rest period and so they continue to open even through the night shortening their life span.

To counter this effect, we usually suggest changing their water regularly, as bacteria levels also creates an environment that favors early death of flowers and foliages. We strongly urge this water change be used with warm tap water. Flushing fresh water through and spilling out excess works best. Keep full to about an inch below the rim of the vase.

For arrangements in vases and containers like the photo above, hold the arrangement from the bottom of the vase in one hand and cradle the flowers in the other hand. slightly tilt the arrangement sideways to remove the older water from the vases and fill with warm water to refresh it. This should be done every other day to keep arrangement fresh for longest shelf life. Everyday is even better. Keep water level at least an inch from the top. Adding pennies or clorox will kill the flowers.