Why Royal Lilies are the Perfect Flowers For Mother's Day

Why Royal Lilies are the Perfect Flowers For Mother's Day

2017 LA Hybrid Mother's Day Mother's Day Gifts Royal Lilies

Every Mother's Day Season, our teams harvest hundreds of thousands of flowers, and each year, certain varieties will emerge as the Perfect Mother's Day Bloom.  This year, it's our phenomenal crops of LA Hybrids, aka Royal Lilies.

This year's long, rainy winter and extra-cool spring in Northern California has blessed us with an outstanding harvest of Royal Lilies, just in time for Mother's Day.  Why do these flowers stand out as perfect gifts for mom?  First, and foremost, is their distinctive lasting ability (much like mom!).   The "hybrid" in LA Hybrid has given them one of the strongest vase lives out of all the lilies, offering an extended, unparalleled enjoyment for those who receive them.  These are the flowers that give further joy with each additional day of fantastic bloom, and two weeks after Mother's Day, you can be sure mom will still be enjoying their beauty!  Behind their elegant shape is an implicit strength--You can feel it in their thick, sturdy stems and healthy, plump petals.

Royal Lilies are made even better by their large bud size and giant blooms (larger than traditional Asiatics). They have a wide-ranging, warm color palette, with hues ranging from pastel pinks and peaches to dark reds and fuchsias to bright oranges and yellows.  Have a look at that great color spread of one our LA Hybrid test rows below: 

Our Diamond Series Royal Lilies

Royal Lilies also have another unseen benefit -- they have virtually no scent. Though many people may love the intoxicating fragrance of an Oriental lily (myself included) it can be too much for those with sensitive noses.  You can fill an entire room with Royal Lilies and it will not interfere with the smell of a meal nor affect one's allergies.  I will be sending both my mom and my grandma Royal Lilies this Mother's Day; although only one has a sensitive nose, they will both love the dazzling display and enduring enjoyment that Royal Lilies Provide.

Yellow Diamond Lilies

Give your mother a long-lasting gift this Mother's Day! An American Grown LA Hybrid Lily, bred with the best of the best in mind.

LA Hybrids: Bred To Please Consumers

LA Hybrids: Bred To Please Consumers

#CAGrown Fall Colors LA Hybrid Lilies Royal Lilies

Our own Bill Prescott recently contributed an article to the Produce News highlighting LA Hybrids for fall. These amazing lilies are coming in strong on our farm. - Lily


People buy cut flowers to enjoy their full splendor, yet it is intrinsic in the very nature of flowers that they bloom, and then the blooms fade. When I talk to consumers about flowers, the one phrase I hear again and again is that,“They don’t last.” Frankly, I’m glad they don’t last; flowers perform a single, unrepeatable act of beauty for every person willing to spend a couple dollars or plant a garden.

Watching the progression of a lily opening up over the course of days fills me with joy and appreciation. In this respect, flowers are much like snowflakes- no two are truly the same. There are no digital copies, you can’t copy and paste flowers.

You must grow them.

The new breeds of Longiflorum Asiatic Hybrids (LA Hybrids) are redefining the often sticky subject of “vase life.” This isn’t by accident or coincidence. The breeders in Holland have been working with these hybrids to focus on not only rich colors, a wide ranging color palette, and thick healthy petals, but unparalleled vase life.

When consumers can take home a bunch of lilies and have them last two weeks in their home, we are expanding the value proposition of our flowers. If a consumer does a weekly grocery trip, imagine as they walk past the floral department, and think,“the lilies I bought last week still look great, I will get more next week.”

This level of performance builds long term sales and trust from consumers. Vase life is a holy grail of the flower industry, and it is equated to value in the consumers mind. No matter how beautiful a flower is, if it wilts and dies quickly, consumers are disappointed. LA Hybrids are the cure for this issue.

LA Hybrids also break the traditional thinking of lilies, because they have virtually no scent. Though many people love the intoxicating fragrance of an Oriental, they are potentially inappropriate for some social situations, such as taking flowers to a dinner party.

When I show a consumer that these lilies don’t have a scent, they immediately start taking about the family member or friend that loves lilies, but can’t handle the fragrance.  This lily solves a problem for our customers.

Lilies have universal year round appeal- however, autumn just seems to resonate with lily lovers. LA Hybrids are perfect for fall, coming in the warm oranges, yellow and reds that consumers love for September, October and November.

As flower farmers, we are growing and nurturing these wonderful creations so they will perform at the highest level for consumers.  As an industry, we all understand that creating the optimum experience for our customers is the key to our success and the continued support of our sales partners.

If you are not offering LA Hybrid lilies to your customers, this fall is the perfect time highlight these warm toned lilies with a class leading vase life and the added benefit of no scent.

What Makes a Lily So Royal?

What Makes a Lily So Royal?

#CAGrown LA Hybrid Lilies Lady Aster Royal Lilies

 We absolutely love lilies here at Sun Valley.  We offer hundreds of colors, species, shapes, and sizes under a handful of brand names. One of our most popular brands is our line of Royal Lilies.  These flowers are a special kind of hybrid that demands an exploration into their greatness.

And what makes our Royal Lilies so special? First off, they are our exclusive brand of Asiatic-Longiflorum Lilies, better known as LA Hybrids.  These are not your average garden variety lilies; these are a man-made flower species, hybridized for better performance, and bred to meet and exceed the needs of flower lovers, connoisseurs, and novices alike.  Their blooms are bigger than traditional Asiatics, their vase life is the longest of any lily, and they boast the widest variety of colors.  Not only that, they are virtually scentless--perfect for those who have sensitive noses or allergies. We have been growing LA Hybrids year-round for years, and our dedication, experience, and first-rate finished product is why we have named them Royal Lilies--they are fit for a king or queen, indeed.

Just take a look at the photos--these babies boast extra-large, smooth blooms in a vibrant spectrum of hues.  Their outstanding vase life and distinct trumpet-like shape are both traits they take from their Longiflorum side.  Their Asiatic blood guides the blooms to face upward while also being responsible for their warm, super-saturated hues. 

Besides their excellent breeding history, Royals also need a quality growing environment to really shine.  This, of course, means giving them what they want every step of the way.

The first step is getting the bulbs into the ground.  Royal Lilies love moist, rich soil, so we make sure to pre-water the terrain to achieve the perfect level of moisture.  Next, our planting team places the bulbs directly into the ground.

Baby LA Hybrids with drip tape and wire

Once all the bulbs are planted, our team lays down drip tape, which provides a consistent, measured supply of water and fertilizer directly to their root systems, without wasteful runoff.  Finally, the team lays a wire grid, which is raised with the Royals as they grow (see photo above).  This support system keeps them growing tall and straight.

Lilies in one of our hoop houses

Royals like warm days and cool nights, which is why we grow them our hoop houses in Arcata (thanks cool, coastal breezes!) for three seasons and in Oxnard hoops in winter (thanks warm, SoCal weather!). The two locations allow us to produce continuous, dependable, true-to-type crops year-round.  
 

Large crop of LA Hybrids growing in our special hoop house, known as "The Cravo"

We use our space well, and don't rush the flowers. We grow them slowly, taking about 12-16 weeks to reach the perfect time to pick (still closed, showing some color on the buds).  This style of growing allows enough time for all the energy and nutrients from the bulb to reach the buds, so their vase life is incredible and the colors really pop.

Once picked,  the stems are bunched into groups on soft tables (to prevent damage), and then placed in buckets of water, which is the start of their post-harvest journey.

Once the lilies have been bunched, the next step is to place them in a sleeve, which we have coded with the name of the lily and its color.  This is necessary as we ship our lilies in closed bud form, allowing them to bloom for you.  Once sleeved, each bunch is trimmed to an ideal height and then placed into a bucket of special water on a cart.  Each cart is mapped to show exactly which variety (and how many) are in each bucket and how many buckets are on each cart.  This data allows every team member on all levels (sales, packing, shipping, etc) to have the most accurate information. At the end of the day, we don't just grow flowers, we live and breathe them! 

We Steam It.

We Steam It.

California Grown Flowers Royal Lilies steaming soil

Kneeland, CA. high above Humboldt Bay



Golden Tycoon Royal Lily

Two weekends ago, I went to a classic northern California pot luck. We drove up to a former hippie cabin, upgraded into a Sunset magazine worthy house. Not big, but having beautiful amenities and unique touches of style. The house sits on the crest of a dramatic mountainside, with a view out over Humboldt Bay and the Pacific. The food was Middle Eastern, Greek and Turkish. The mixed grill featured local lamb kabobs and all sorts of tasty culinary treats.



Cinnabar Royal Lily

My wife and I contributed a few dozen of her world class dolmas, and being a flower guy, I brought a stunning bouquet mixing our Cinnabar Royal Lilies  and our Golden Tycoon Royal Lilies with some greens. Our hostess was thrilled to receive a simple yet decadent hand tied bouquet, her eyes lit up at the elegance of a few lily stems, and a bit of Sweet Huck. Sun Valley Royal Lilies are great to bring to a food function, since they don’t have a strong scent. In my experience, it is frowned upon to bring in an armload of flowers which overpower all the chefs best intentions. (You only do this once!)



The flowers’ colors complimented the sunset which slowly unfolded over the Pacific while we enjoyed a great dinner and engaging conversation. As the wine flowed and the evening progressed the flowers got more attention from the guests. Amazing as it is, a few new buds had started to open up and were now “kissing.”



Among the Oohs and Ahhs, I was eyed by a guest I didn’t know well. He approached and asked, “How many pesticides are on those things?”

I answered, “None, the flowers are from Sun Valley, it is a Veriflora Certified Sustainable farm and being grown in California, the environmental restrictions are probably the toughest in the world.”

Without hesitating he asked, “Then, how do you deal with all the weeds and weird bugs in the soil?”

I took a long sip of my local Cabernet, “We steam it.”

“You do what?” his nose sort of wrinkling.

Steam Rising from the Soil



“Steam it” noticing I had an audience, I continued, “We take all the soil we grow our lilies in, cover it with huge thick canvas clothes and pump steaming, 212 degree moist air over the soil for 8 to 24 hours, this kills all the seeds, pests and basically sterilizes the soil. This way we don’t have to use tons of chemicals."



Steam Tube and Tarps in a Hoop House.



Another interested guest asks, as she gawks at the big blooms of the lilies, "These are grown in soil? ...in the ground?"

"Sure, lilies love to be in the soil, you also get a much higher quality flower by growing in soil as opposed to hydroponic.  Thicker stems, longer life after cutting, and most importantly, dramatic vibrant HUGE blooms.  (Sorry South America, you can't compete with our California Grown lilies!)

Just after planting, then baby lilies... only about 3 weeks old.

“Wow, that’s pretty sweet” the once skeptical guest replies as he looks at the lilies with a new appreciation and now can’t help put get much closer to admire their beauty. He looks up and asks, “So where’s this farm?”

I point out through the window, to a few lights twinkling below next to the ocean, “right there.”

Please share this blog with your family and friends who love flowers.

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-Lily

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

Springing Forward and Up

Springing Forward and Up

Around the flower farm California Flowers Freesia Iris Iris flower Lilies Love Lilies Royal Lilies

Today is the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox, meaning Earth's northern hemisphere is about to tilt towards the sun, thus prolonging daylight hours. In other words, we're leaving winter in our rear view mirror!

"Springing forward" brings on a few changes around our Sun Valley farms, as you might imagine. For example, longer daylight hours equate to less need for the use of growing lights in the greenhouses. More significantly, from today's Vernal Equinox to its counterpart (Autumnal Equinox), our core crops are essentially relocating from one California farm to the other.


Core crops are mostly grown in Arcata during the spring and summer

Over the next few months, our Arcata farm, nestled in the Pacific Northwest right in the heart of the Redwoods, will have an ideal climate for growing field, hoophouse and greenhouse crops, like Iris, Asiatic Lilies and Oriental Lilies respectively. Steady moderate temperatures, an abundance of moisture, and the right amount of sunlight are just what the farmer ordered this time of year!   

Most of the core crop production moves to Oxnard for the fall and winter

Alternately, the ever-warm and sunny - except for right now with the crazy weather patterns of late - Oxnard farm in southern California allows us to grow the flowers mentioned above during the winter, when Arcata tends to be under a constant blanket of rain clouds. Even with shorter days, the Oxnard farm gets plenty of sunlight and its winter climate is just right for crops that love a little warmth, like Freesia, Brassica and Dubium. (I'll be talking all about Freesia next week, so stay tuned!) 

Chasing the weather from our NorCal farm to the SoCal farm and back is one of the factors that allow us to grow our core crops year-round nearly seamlessly. (In case you're wondering, the other factors include ample cooler space and hardworking flower farmers!) Now that the days are getting longer than the nights, it's time for our flowers to head north!

(Note: the aerial pictures above are a little dated - I'll call them "vintage" - but they give you the general idea of our farms!)

Thanksgiving - Reflection on a floral education

Thanksgiving - Reflection on a floral education

California Flowers Growing Flowers Hydrangea Ilex Love Lilies Royal Lilies Soil Grown Tulips Sun Valley Thanksgiving

The turkey is back.

Without fail, the often grounded, gobbling bird returns year after year to remind us that it's time for a feast, football and most importantly, reflection. Thanksgiving is a holiday to, like the name implies, give thanks for the people and things that enhance our lives.

Since most of us won't be checking our emails tomorrow, I'm going to go ahead and share my personal Thanksgiving reflection with you today. Among the things I give thanks for every year - family, health, chocolate, The Beatles, etc. - this year I'm particularly grateful for the continuing floral education I've received from Sun Valley.

I've learned more about flowers in the past year at Sun Valley than I have throughout my previous 20-something years on earth. And I've had the pleasure of sharing it all right here on Flower Talk. The beauty of it is even though my floral horizons have been broadened so much already, there's still a huge world of flower facts out there for me to discover!

Until then, I want to share some of my favorite educational posts, ones I feel accurately represent my learning experience thus far. Without further ado...

1. Willow Creek Part 3 - In search of the "perfect Ilex"

I visited the Willow Creek farm with Lane a few months ago , and I learned a lot about Cotinus, Rosehips and Ilex, among other things. This post goes into detail about how our Ilex is grown and reveals one of Lane's greatest passions as a farmer.







2. Lily's Boots: Summer and... Cryogenic Freezing?

What do Sun Valley summer Tulips and Cryogenic Freezing have in common? One of our farm's main strengths is growing Tulips year-round. Learn how we're able to grow our Tulips in the summertime.







3. Hey Material Girl, Open Your Heart... to Hydrangeas

In light of Madonna's public denouncement of Hydrangeas, this post tells you all you need to know about how Hydrangeas are grown at Sun Valley.






4. Lily's Boots: The Path to Iris Enlightenment

I set out to learn all about Iris, and walked away a little more enlightened. This post is filled with fun facts about Iris and explores how this beautiful flower is grown and harvested.








5. Lily's Boots, Love and Royal Lilies - Part 1 and Part 2

You can't have one without the other! These posts go into detail about how we grow our Asiatic (Love) and Royal (LA Hybrid) Lilies at Sun Valley's Arcata farm. I got some fantastic hands-on planting and bunching experience - check out the video!




While there are so many other fascinating floral topics that I've covered over the last several months, I feel these posts provide a great example of the knowledge I've absorbed while working at the farm.

I'm very grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn so much about such a fascinating topic and to be able to share it with you. I'm also grateful that I get to continue doing so!


And now, for the first time on Flower Talk...
For a chance to WIN A FREE CASE OF MIXED CHRISTMAS TULIPS, tell me what you're thankful for this year on our Facebook page! (Click HERE for the Sun Valley Floral Farms Facebook page.)

Lily's Boots, Love and Royal Lilies - Part 2

Lily's Boots, Love and Royal Lilies - Part 2

Asiatic Lilies CA Grown California Flowers lily's boots Love Lilies Royal Lilies Sun Valley

Freshly harvested Royal Lilies

In my last Lily's Boots post, we followed Love and Royal Lily bulbs all the way from the bulb coolers to the soil, thanks to Tim, our informative tour guide. Today, we'll complete the journey from the sprout to the shipping cooler, thanks to a handful of knowledgeable Sun Valley Team Members.

Starting where we left off...

Once Loves and Royals are planted in the ground (which Tim and I got first-hand experience with), they take about 12 weeks to reach their blooming point, taking somewhat longer earlier in the season. Similar to Tulips, the Lily bulbs that hang out a bit longer in the coolers are the ones that hang out the shortest amount of time in the Hoophouses. Because they really enjoy the regular weather patterns of Arcata during this season and Oxnard during the alternate season, Royal and Love Lilies do not require a Greenhouse to grow in, unlike their Oriental Lily counterparts. (We'll explore Oriental Lily growing in the future.) For this reason, they're somewhat of a Grower's dream!

Although they're grown year-round between Arcata and Oxnard, we're in the midst of the peak planting season for Love and Royal Lilies since they provide a full spectrum of Autumnal colors. Also, because our Lily bulbs are used only once, as opposed to Gerberas or Roses, which grow from the same plant for three years, we are able to exercise a significant level of control over our Lily color programs. (Check out the range of Love and Royal Lily colors by clicking here and here.) So at any given time during this time of year, if you take a trip over to the Hoophouses, you can see the Loves and Royals being planted, tended to, and harvested - a whole life cycle happening right before your eyes!



At one part of the farm, a Team Member harvests Royal Lilies

Once the Lilies have been hand-cut by the Asiatic Lily Picking Team, they are wheeled a short distance over to a nearby Hoophouse, where they are bunched, sleeved and put into buckets of water. As it happens, I got a little bit of hands on experience with the sleeving the other day. I regret to inform you that I did not catch it on video, but here are some photos.

My bunching station: Grade 1 Love Lilies on the left, sleeves in the middle,
sleeved bunches on the right



Lily putting Lilies in a sleeve, taking about double the amount
of time as the Team Member to my left (not pictured), I might add

You might think that bunching and sleeving is as simple as putting a few stems together and sticking them into a sleeve, but the process is actually much more complicated. At least, I found it to be! For starters, each Lily has to be graded and then separated into its respective grade. The grading is made clear with color-coded rubber bands. Blue = Grade 1, and Red = Grade 6.



Blue and red rubber bands identify the Lily grades



Then each bunch of Lilies must go into its own sleeve. Every sleeve is coded with the brand and name of a Lily, and a color ring around the top of the sleeve indicates the color of the Lily - a helpful measure since we ship our Lilies closed.



"Santa Cruz" Love Lilies



"Champagne Diamond" Royal Lilies



"Tiger Play" Tango Lilies

Once the Love and Royal Lilies have been graded, bunched and sleeved, a Team Member ties them, trims them and puts them into a bucket of water on one of our Dutch auction carts. (You may remember the carts from IFE.) The team member carefully maps each cart to show exactly which variety or varieties are on the cart, how many bunches are in each bucket, and how many buckets are on each cart. This data is then entered into our computer system so the Packing Team in the Warehouse (the Love and Royal Lilies' final destination at the farm) will have an accurate inventory to pull from.



A Team Member ties and trims Love Lilies



Next the Team Member draws out a cart map by hand,
which he will later enter into a computer.



Finally, the Team Member wheels a full cart to the edge of
the Hoophouse where another team member will collect it
and pull it into the Warehouse.

And this completes our Sun Valley tour of the Love and Royal Lilies. The rest of the story, as you know, continues with a little Cold Chain Management, a wholesaler, retailer or florist, and ultimately, a smiling recipient of Loves or Royals.

The next time you're sticking an orange Love or a burgundy Royal into your cornucopia, you'll know exactly where your Lilies came from!

For even more information on Loves and Royals, visit this Resource Pages:
Love Lilies and Royal Lilies: http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_LiliesRL.pdf
Love Lilies: http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_LoveLilies.pdf
Royal Lilies: http://www.thesunvalleygroup.com/thesunvalleygroup/pdf/SV_RP_RoyalLilies.pdf