Top Five Stylish Halloween Flowers

Top Five Stylish Halloween Flowers

autumn Autumn Colors burgundy Cotinus fall Halloween Hypericum orange art tango lilies Rosehips Sunflowers z-callas zantedeschia

I love Halloween.  Not only is it full of mischief and fun, it has a style all its own.  As one of the first "events" of the 2016 fall season, Halloween is full of changing color, mystery, and delight.  Today, we're talking flowers with a focus on FIVE of the best seasonal blooms for all your spooky arrangements.

Orange Art Tango Lily

Orange Art Tango Lily bouquet featured in Flowers& Magazine

1. Orange Art Tango Lily

One of my favorite fall flowers is the unique Orange Art Tango Lily, a wonderfully bold Latvian Asiatic hybrid featuring saturated orange petals with thick brushstrokes of dark burgundy in the throat. It's a stunning flower by itself, and its dramatic color scheme can work in all styles of autumn-themed bouquets.

2. Sunflowers

The best Halloween colors are warm, saturated, and full of contrast. Sunflowers, of course, are solidly autumn. Their fiery yellow, red, and orange petals paired with giant black, green, and taupe eyes provide a distinctive textural juxtaposition. They're gorgeous, fun, singular, and perfect for Halloween.

3. Celosia

Other things to look for in Halloween flowers are texture, unusual shapes, and vibrancy. A perfect example is our line of Bombay Celosia, which comes in electric hues of orange, red, hot pink, yellow, and lime green. Their brain-like appearance is perfect for Halloween decor, but they can also lend an  elegant, inspired feel.  According to AIFD designer Walter Fedyshyn, its "velvety texture makes any arrangement look like a work of art."

Bombay Celosia

 4. Fall Berries: Rosehips & Hypericum

Continuing on the theme of texture, some excellent autumn berries which provide pops of colors and depth are rosehips and hypericum.   These focal points are tried-and-true fall favorites and come in a variety of colors to add just the seasonal touch you need.

Sunflowers with Pumpkin Hypericum and Red Rosehips (L-R)

5. Dark Purple Accents

Dark purple hues, such as burgundy and maroon, resonate with the naturally changing autumnal ambiance.  A great example is royal purple cotinus, whose dark, earthy leaves have a bright red, iridescent edging--it provides a great backdrop to warmer autumnal shades.   

Royal Purple Cotinus paired with Royal Sunset Lilies

Zantedeschia, or z-callas, also offer a great range of dark maroon and burgundy blooms.  They have an incredible vase life, look stunning on their own and also when paired with other autumn favorites such as brassica and bells of Ireland.

Burgundy Zantedeschia, on its own and paired with Bells of Ireland and Crane Red Brassica

Sun Valley's division of hand-crafted bouquet design, Sun Pacific Bouquet (aka Sun Pac), is answering the call of autumn with the use of some of these fall favorites.  Their 2016 Fall Bouquet Collection features flowers such as warm-hued lilies and sunflowers, backed by seasonal greens and burgundy hypericum and cotinus.

Wild Fall Bouquet and Black Spider Bouquet by SunPac

When creating your fall arrangements this year try your hand with some of these five autumnal elements; and of course, do not forget the best part of Halloween bouquets--spooky fun.

Z-Calla Photo Freak Out

Z-Calla Photo Freak Out

Arcata calla lilies color Oxnard photography summer flower farming z-callas zantedeschia

Calla Lily Season (or, as we call them, Z-Callas) is in full effect! Both our Oxnard and Arcata Farms are bursting with color and looking great.  I think I may have fallen in love with a hoop house.

Z-callas ready to be picked

I did some walking around with the camera in order to capture the magical growth that is happening. Now, I share this eye candy with you.  Enjoy!

Some Z-Calla Varieties:

Dark Maroon Calla beginning to unfurl

Vermeer Z-callas

Morning Sun Z-Calla

Captain Ventura Z-Calla

Gold Medal Z-Calla

Royal Princess Z-Calla

Z-Calla Hoop Houses:

Yellow Calla Madness

Buckets of Blooms

Hope you enjoyed the walk through our World of Color; and don't worry, there's plenty to share!

What is a Z-Calla?

What is a Z-Calla?

calla lilies hoop houses spring z-callas zantedeschia

Many people are well-acquainted with the Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)—its white trumpet bloom and long, dark stem marks the beginning of spring in many gardens.  Many people are also familiar with Mini Callas (or, colored callas) which are often referred to simply as Zantedeschia.  "Mini callas" come in a much wider array of colors than their big, white sister, and include: rose, yellow, orange, red, flame, white, dark purple, bi-color, and even black. Now, what are Z-callas?

Gorgeous, dark maroon z-callas

Z-Callas 

Technically, Z-Callas are "mini-callas" but the ones we grow are not miniature by any means. Their trumpet-shaped blooms are sized around 4 inches with stem lengths of 20" to 30."  How do we grow them so large?  It's not crazy hormones or fertilizers...it's all in our methods. 

How to Grow Z-Callas

Over the last few years, we've been doing different tests with our Z-Callas: growing some in greenhouses, others in hoops, trying out different varieties, playing with light, dark, warmth, and cool. You name it, we tried it—and the research paid off. Once we found our stride with Z-Callas, we continued with what worked, and kept our practices consistent; now, every spring through fall we can provide florists, stores, and individuals with large, color-saturated zantedeschia.

What we found is that Z-callas need a combination of diffused UV light and cool evenings to really color up and stretch.  To obtain properly diffused light, we grow our z-callas in hoop houses which are covered in milky-white plastic.  While UV light can still pass through the plastic, the opacity diffuses the sun's rays and allows the light to wrap around z-callas big upper leaves and reach underneath to the dark underbelly.  This is key, as z-callas need as much light on as many of their leaves as possible in order to grow tall and color up. 

The second part of this equation is cool evenings, as a little bit of cold stress helps z-callas stretch to their elegant length while also infusing their blooms with intense color.  If z-callas are kept at a balmy temperature all day and all night, the intensity of their colors will be reduced.  Again, hoop houses help with this, as they're open-ended, allowing for cool, evening air to circulate freely.    Consistent, cool evenings are what really make the colors of our orange "flame" varieties so vivid.

Super vivid "flame" z-callas

Z-callas are irresistible and their popularity is huge—you can't open an industry publication or peruse Pinterest or Instagram without seeing their colorful heads and trademark shape.  In addition to their iconic elegance, they are particularly sought after for their remarkable vase life (3-4 weeks). We grow them from spring (just in time for wedding season!) and continue rolling out new colors and varieties all the way until fall.

So, when you want to add some intense color to your long-lasting arrangements, don't just ask for mini-callas, ask for Z-callas!

J Schwanke's New Video Using Our Hydrangea and Tulips.

J Schwanke's New Video Using Our Hydrangea and Tulips.

calla lilies Cotinus Field to Vase Blog Huffington Post Hydrangea J Schwanke Tulips zantedeschia

J Schwanke just completed a wonderful video using Sun Valley flowers. Our big beautiful hydrangeas and our long, elegant purple tulips are the stars of the show. J has a great way of simplifying an arrangement and explaining it, so even a rookie can create a beautiful flower design.

Check this out, and get inspired!




This week Sun Valley also made a splash on the Field To Vase blog which is a gorgeous flower site, curated by Christina Stembel and her team at Farmgirl Flowers.

And in case you missed it, there was an article in the Huffington Post talking about our "CAGrown" Cotinus, which is the perfect foliage to highlight your fall flowers.

...and I had a to share a few photos of our Zantedeschia, WOWZA!

Ok, quit drooling. Back to work!

 

Zants in our Pants! Zantedeschia Returns to Sun Valley

Zants in our Pants! Zantedeschia Returns to Sun Valley

calla lilies zantedeschia

"The plowman is broad as the back of the land he is sowing,
As he dances the circular track of the plow ever knowing
that the work of his day measures more than the planting and growing"
                                                                   Let It Grow by The Grateful Dead

After a few years hiatus, we are growing beautiful, colorful Zantedeschia again. Zantedeschia are members of the Araceae family and they are native to southern African.

The Zants we are growing are different colors based on particular species. Zants are often referred to as "Calla Lilies." When you call to order, we will know what you mean, however, these are not true lilies, since they are not members of the Liliaceae family.

You are likely familiar with the white garden variety of Calla Lilies called Zantedeschia Aethiopic, though these look nice in your garden, these are not the species we are growing.

What are we growing? I believe picture tells a thousands words, so check out these dramatic blooms.

Sun Valley Zantedeschia Variety "Captain Marrero"

Sun Valley Zantedeschia Variety "Captain Reno"

Sun Valley Zantedeschia Variety "Garnet Glow"

Sun Valley Zantedeschia Variety "Black Star"

Sun Valley Zantedeschia Variety "Flame"

Zants are a very challenging flower to grow successfully and this is where our years of growing experience come into play. We are using several proprietary growing techniques to achieve results that will impress you and your customers. 

Check out this picture Lane took yesterday morning. Zants growing in our rich soil are filling up this hoop house, ready to pick!

Growing Zantedeschia

These blooms are one of the most photogenic flowers, and I absolutely love how they follow the classic Fibonacci Sequence.

Symmetry and beauty are interrelated.

Our current varieties are exhibiting an outstanding vase life and don't drink an enormous amount of water, so no need to keep filling that vase up. Length wise we are seeing a wide range of stem lengths from 14 inches to 28 inches, all dependent on variety, the age of the plant and the environmental conditions.

What is so exciting about growing Zants again is that we are charting a new course in our flower production, yet we have the experience and growing techniques figured out. There will be more and more varieties becoming available as we roll into autumn so be sure to ask your floral professional if they have "Zants in their pants!"  then tell them,  "Lily Sent You."