What Zantedeschia Want: Part 2

What Zantedeschia Want: Part 2

#Sun Valley #zantedeschia #zants greenhouses hoop houses Lady Aster

Last week, we learned what Zantedeschia really want in a growing environment: Diffused Light and Cool Evenings.  Now it's time to reveal the results of our year-long examination--which one of these growing environments--Hoop Houses or Greenhouses--gives Zants the ideal growing conditions that they really want? The winner is.....

 ....HOOP HOUSES!  

HOOP HOUSE

GREENHOUSE

Yes, that's right.  Zantedeschia like Hoop Houses more than Greenhouses, but it's not personal, it's business. Here's how they deliver:
  
Light Diffusion and UV Supply: The plastic coverings we use on our hoop houses are milky white, which provides the best light diffusion.  The opaque color scatters (or diffuses) the sun's rays and allows the light to wrap around Zant's big upper leaves and reach underneath to the dark underbelly. The clear, glass windows of a greenhouse typically provide direct light which can create a lot of shadows.  Some plants thrive in this environment, but Zants need as much light on as many of their leaves as possible.  In addition to the lack of light diffusion,  greenhouse glass also acts as a filter for UV light, which means the majority of UV rays are not transmitted (just try to get a suntan in a greenhouse!).  However, the plastic on our hoop houses allows the much-needed UV rays to shine on through.

Temperature: As we have learned, Zants like cold nights. Greenhouses can be too warm, which will result in more leaves than flowers.  Hoop houses, on the other hand, naturally start off cooler than a greenhouse.  This is because hoop houses are open-ended, which allow for cool evening air to circulate freely.  Know what else keeps hoops houses cool? Diffused light! It does create heat, but the heat is not nearly as intense as direct light.  Consistent, cool evenings leads to rich, saturated color.  Plus, the little bit of cold stress is not only good for vivid-looking blooms, it is also just what they need to grow tall and straight.

This year, our hoop house varieties are exhibiting exceptionally vivid colors as well as stem lengths ranging from 14 to 28 inches.  We love these beauties for their iconic, elegant appearance and their remarkable vase life.  We're quite excited that we have discovered what Zants really want.....and we hope you are too!

Season of Wonder, Part 2

Season of Wonder, Part 2

#americangrown #CAGrown #dubium #OriginMatters #ornithogalum #Sun Valley #wonderflower

 Last week you heard about Lane's Journey to find "the Wonder Flower"--the dearly beloved Ornithogalum (aka Star-of-Bethlehem), and now we will share how it lives up to its name. 

Our Ornithogalum color collection

In addition to the dazzling, super-saturated orange Ornithogalum dubium, we also offer a creamy yellow blossom (pictured top right) as well as a pure white variety (bottom right).  Regardless of color, all of Ornithogalum's delicate looking blooms are surprisingly tough and resilient. 

Ornithogalum's long-lasting flowers and robust stems give it an incredible vase life.  Its star-shaped, silky florets bloom in stages all the way to the top of its flower head, a process which can take a few weeks, which means it will look fantastic for at least a month.  The one-two combination of a prolonged vase life paired with incredible presentation creates an overall rewarding experience for the purchaser.

Growing Practices  

The enjoyment of these Stars-of-Bethlehem begins with our growing practices.  Because of their Mediterranean origin, these flowering plants are accustomed to warm weather with minimal rain--they're genuine heat-loving children of the sun.

We begin by planting bulbs in our Southern Californian hoop houses  around September.  We give the early developing plants plenty of light and wrap the hoop houses to keep them warm.  Once they begin to flower, we modify their environment to make it a little bit cooler and a little bit darker, while still providing plenty of light. The key here is timing and finding the perfect equilibrium between warm and cool, light and dark, because an imbalance between these elements  will cause the blooms to stretch along the stem instead of gathering beautifully near the top as pictured below.

Snugly gathered head of blooms

Throughout production, Ornithogalum needs some special attention so that their long, leafless stems continue to grow tall and straight and not become tangled.  The end goal is to have a crop with 40-cm long (or longer!), strong, thick stems with flowers blooming in a gathered circle around the head.  The long stems will always have a natural movement and curve to them, which has often been described as a "designer's dream." 

After a few months in the hoop houses, we can begin to harvest.  We pick the seasonal Ornithogalum from March until May, and then process the bulbs in order to thrust them back into dormancy.  In this way, the bulbs rest through the summer, and we are able to reuse them once more for the following fall, which makes production of the incredible (but challenging) Ornithogalum much more feasible. 

Freshly harvested yellow Ornithogalum--check out those long stems!

Because these wonder flowers are a seasonal crop, you'll want to get these colorful, room-brightening beauties while they last!   The season of wonder has begun, why don't you pass it on?

The Journey to find the Wonder Flower, Part 1

The Journey to find the Wonder Flower, Part 1

#americangrown #CAGrown #dubium #ornithogalum #Sun Valley #USGrown #wonderflower

Yesterday morning, a brilliant flash of orange from our hoop houses made me stop in my tracks. What vivid flower could this be? Why, it's the beautiful Ornithogalum---a mouthful of a name for an extraordinary plant. This elegant flower is native to both South Africa and the Mediterranean, and features a cluster of star-shaped, bell-like flowers gathered at the head of a long, leafless stem.  It’s simply beautiful, so there's no surprise why it's been dubbed "the Wonder Flower." How did we get our paws on such an exotic beauty? Well, our man-with-a-plan, Mr. Lane DeVries, made a special journey to Israel specifically to find the varieties that we offer you today.

Ornithogalum dubium: The Wonder Flower

There are not many US companies who offer Ornithogalum, and this is because growing the wondrous thing can pose several challenges--without the right growing environment or variety, its long stems can become tangled or curved, and its cluster of blooms can be sparse and scattered.  When Lane made his trip to Israel in 2011, he was looking for the best that Ornithogalum had to offer.  He wanted ample, abounding heads of blooms atop longer, straighter stems.  He found this with Ben Zur.

Ben Zur, holding a prized Ornithogalum.

For the last 25 years, Ben Zur Nurseries has been working with plant tissue culture, hybridizing varieties to produce stronger, healthier plants as well as first-generation bulbs.  Lane had gone to see Ben's latest work with the Ornithogalum, and found "The One"--the brilliant orange Ornithogalum dubium.  It was, quite literally, the only one of its kind in the greenhouse.  Lane noticed it immediately, not only because it boasted a taller, straighter stem than its sisters, but (most importantly) because its blooms were thickly gathered together at the top.  Ben Zur called this outstanding variety AV-13, but with its adoption by Sun Valley, we know it as Royal Valley.

Lane picking AV-13

"The One"

Now that you've heard the tale of Lane's journey across the sea to hand-pick our beautiful star-of-Bethlehem, stay tuned for Part 2 next week, in which we will explore why Ornithogalum is so beloved, what it needs to grow so beautifully, and I will also unveil some sweet photos of all our Ornithogalum varietal colors.  

Stay brilliant, stay dubium.

It's a Farm! (Part 1)

It's a Farm! (Part 1)

#Arcata #Flower farming #Flowers #hydrangeas #iris #Redwoods #stargazer #Sun Valley



Looking at a beautiful flower arrangement on a polished wood table in your hallway, it is easy to forget that these flowers didn’t come from a test tube or a pristine laboratory. They came from a real working farm.  This means dirt, mud, weird smells, heavy equipment and people hustling and bustling in every direction.

Forklifts, trucks and carts full of buckets are zipping around in a constant commotion. You do a double take as a mini-train of colorful Hydrangeas goes speeding by, their delicate heads overflowing out of white buckets and barely staying on board.

These flowers were just picked, and are now on the way to be packaged and sent on their way. The contrast of vibrant colorful flowers stacked on a drab muddy cart, epitomizes the surreal beauty of a cut flower and the hard work involved in getting it to the vase on your hallway table or to the design table in your studio.

Farm fresh Hydrangeas and Golden Beauty Iris just after picking.

The beeping of a forklift grabs your attention just in time as it pulls out of a seemingly endless row of hoop houses. The scale is amazing. Are you on a flower farm tucked between the roaring Pacific Ocean and the legendary redwood forests of northern California, or in the vast Midwest, surrounded by silos, combines and hay bales?

The strong wind driving the salty freshness of the sea up over the dunes and across the Arcata Bottoms leaves no doubt that you are next to the ocean.  The sand and dust in the wind scour your cheeks, you are dodging huge puddles, keeping dry from the spitting rain and all the while looking out of the corner of your eye for the next forklift. Yes, they call this "summer" around here.

You reach for a heavy glass door, slide it open with both hands and step into a huge glass paned greenhouse; your senses react to the incredible change. Here you stand in the warm swirling air, the smell of new growth and rich soil welcomes you. The wind is gone, replaced by the hum of fans moving the air strategically around the vast green house. You still hear the outdoor environment as it shakes the glass panels of the structure with each gust, but now you feel the humidity and the effects of all that fresh green foliage. Row upon row of Oriental lilies greet your eyes, a few have blossomed out early, ridiculous blooms bursting out of a sea of green stalks.

Early blooms and Sumatra Lilies just about to be harvested.

The quiet of the greenhouse is very calming.  Way down at the end of a row, you see a small cluster of workers. They are snipping lilies at the perfect stage.  These lilies will be ready to open up and share the peak of their beauty when they get to the consumer.


Picking our Starfighter Oriental Lilies, the Starfighter is a contemporary version of the legendary Stargazer.

Sun Valley's growers guide the lilies upward with light.  Ironically, we are usually trying to reduce the amount of light on the lilies, so that they strive to grow taller and get closer to the sun.  The proper light level also encourages thick stems which are needed to support the big heavy blooms, usually growing 4 or more per stem.  Hanging from the top of the greenhouse are small black boxes.  These are sensors which are constantly monitoring the conditions in the greenhouse.  If the light gets too bright, canvas sheets are automatically pulled across the length of the green house, if it gets too dark, lights will come on to keep the precious lilies in the ideal conditions.

Bunches of lilies.

A flower farm is science wrapped in organized chaos. Communication flows from the growers, to the sales team, to the customers, back to the picking teams, to the warehouse and transportation departments, and again back to the customers.  Sun Valley prides itself on "operational excellence."  This isn't just lip service, this is an absolute necessity to get our California grown flowers to the end users all over the county, with the highest quality, impeccable consistency and a fair price.

"Creating a World of Color" includes a lot of people, enormous logistics and tons of soil.  In the next installment of "It's a Farm" we will visit the warehouse, so stay tuned.

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-Lily


“The earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson