Showing posts with label Ornithogalum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ornithogalum. Show all posts

Apr 12, 2016

Dubium, The Brightest Star Flower

 A Mediterranean flower is taking the floral world by storm--the beautiful and voluminous Ornithogalum dubium.

orange ornithogalum dubium

This gorgeous flower features a cluster of star-shaped florets gathered at the head of a long, leafless stem. There are over 150 species of this "Wonder Flower," and here at Sun Valley, we grow the largest and brightest--O. Dubium (we refer to ours simply as dubium). 

Our original stock came from the flowers' native home of Israel.  In 2011, Lane DeVries made a special trip there to find the best-of-the-best Ornithogalum species.  What he came back with was the long-stemmed dubium that we now offer you, in gorgeous colors like saturated orange, creamy butter-yellow, and pure white.

orange white yellow ornithogalum dubium

Growing Practices 

Because of their Mediterranean origin, these flowering plants are accustomed to warm weather with minimal rain, so we do our best to give them what they want. We begin by planting bulbs in our Southern Californian hoop houses in early fall.

ornithogalum dubium growing hoop house
Dubium Hoop House

We give the developing sprouts plenty of light and wrap the hoop houses to keep them warm.  Once the plants begin to form their heads, we cool their environment while still providing plenty of light. The key here is to find the perfect balance between light and dark and warm and cool.  The balance and timing of these elements will help the blooms cluster beautifully at the top, instead of stretching along the length of its long stems.

ornithogalum dubium long stems

Speaking of their long, leafless stems...our dubium has some of the longest stems in the flower market, measuring at 40 cm plus!  However, their stem length doesn't happen just by chance; we have to remain vigilant in our growing practices so that they can grow strong, thick stems without becoming tangled. 
ornithogalum dubium long stems yellow
The long stems of dubium 
Typically, we pick dubium from March until May; starting with the orange and cream, and ending with the white. 

Dubium Design

There are more than a few reasons why dubium is sought after in floral design.  First, its long-lasting flowers and robust stems give it an incredible vase life.  Second, its 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 the flower looks fantastic for at least a month.  It’s lovely to watch its head of buds turn into a showy mass of flowers.  One of our sales managers even compared the fully bloomed head of white dubium to a Peegee Hydrangea, and if you look at the photo below you can see why!

ornithogalum dubium multiple blooms
Progressive bloom
Last but not least, no matter what stage of bloom it is in, dubium adds texture, emphasis, and a focal punch to bouquets and arrangements.  Designers love working with its long stems, which have a natural movement and curve. 

dubium bouquet
Bright, spring-centered dubium bouquet

Check out some more dazzling floral arrangements featuring dubium below:

orange dubium flower arrangements
Colorful dubium bouquets and boutonnieres

white dubium flower arrangements
Elegant white dubium arrangements





Dubium's versatility brings charisma and style to all types of arrangements and bouquets.  To help get your creativity flowing, we also offer dubium bunches enhanced with botanicals (see below).  Get them while they're hot out of the hoop house, and brighten up your world with the wonder flower!

Sun Valley dubium flower bunches enhanced
(L-R) Dubium bunches enhanced with Matricaria, Solidago, Dianthus, and Iris. 



lady aster dubium



Apr 23, 2013

Mother's Day ~ Let's Get It On!



"Let's get it on!"

When Marvin Gaye sang these immortal words he must have been thinking about Mother's Day in the floral biz.  All throughout Sun Valley, the energy level is rising and everyone is feeling the vibe. It’s going to be a wild few weeks until we hit May 12th.  We all know Mother's Day is crazy for flower growers, but did you know it is also the single day with the most long distance calls of the year?

So what crops are we still flush with?



Buy matsumoto asters for Mother's Day
Hot Pink Matsumoto Asters

Time to celebrate MatsuMania 2013!  Our Sun Valley Matsumotos are known for their bright colors, big blooms and tall sturdy stems. The red, purple, pink and lavender colors are all coming in strong.  The weather changed just perfectly at our Oxnard farm this spring to provide us with a bumper crop.  Gerrit in Oxnard is responsible for growing this epic crop, now all of YOU need to come through and find a home for these beauties. 

April, 23 2013 asters
Red Matsumoto Asters

I feel like Matsumotos are often one of the unsung crops of the farm.  We are known for our impressive tulip production, year round Telstar iris production and our jaw dropping lilies.   It seems these unique flowers live in the shadows.  This is not the case right now, Matsumotos are standing up, so you better take notice.  They are also bursting out of our bouquet department, have you checked out these bouquets, let us do the work for you!

White Dubium for Mother's Day 2013
White Dubium progression
Two weeks ago I wrote about Dubium Ornithogalum, imagine Star of Bethlehem on steroids.  We have an abundance of the white variety, which is perfect as a focal or in a supporting role in your Mother's Day designs.  This plant is really well known in horticulture circles, and you will often see this as a potted plant in garden centers or supermarket floral departments.  We have been getting a really positive response from our customers on this crop as a cut flower, it is definitely an up and coming "cut" flower, and will add a little spice to whatever you use it for.  One of its' outstanding qualities, is an almost freakish vase life.  These plants are native to arid regions of Africa and the Middle East. They survive three weeks and beyond, after the blooms start to open in a progression up the stem.  You could give your Mom a big bunch of these with some greenery for Mother's Day, and still be enjoying them at Father's Day!

Tulips for Mother's Day 2013
 
"The secret of success is consistency of purpose" -Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881, British Prime Minister)
Consistency of purposesums up the Sun Valley Tulip program.  Our soil grown, greenhouse tulips maintain the highest quality year round.  We strongly believe that offering a consistent, dependable product is the key to return business.  Whether you are a wholesaler selling tulips to florists or a mass marketer selling tulips to the general public, if you sell poor a quality tulip you are poisoning your next sale.  When a customer is buying from you they are already committed to the sale, however, the next sale is what you should be thinking about.  Consistency creates return business, better relationships, and in the end, builds your customers trust.
  
Is there anything more valuable or precious in business than your customers trust?

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