sustainable – Blumen Fields Flower Farm

Planting Bare Root Roses

Posted on March 13, 2023March 15, 2023 by Blumen Fields Flower Farm

Plant a Bare-Root Rose in 12 Easy Steps.

While it might seem counterintuitive to purchase a rose that isn’t potted in soil, purchasing a bare-root rose is a great option and my preferred method here on the flower farm. Purchasing bare-root provides many advantages to container-grown roses, the least of which is cost. A bare-root rose can cost 30-50% less than container-grown roses of the same size because there is no labour required for potting them up. They also weigh significantly less and therefore don’t cost as much to ship. All savings that get passed along to the customer.

Other advantages include ease of handling (again, because of the weight) and better growth performance.

It is very easy for one person to plant a bare-root rose that might normally require a second person to help lift and remove the container of a container-grown plant of the same size.

Bare-root roses generally have an easier time getting quickly established in their new home as opposed to their container-grown counterparts. The bare-root roses will not have to transition from the soil that is in the container to the native soil in your yard. They are only available in the winter/early spring which allows them to be planted while they are still dormant. This means that a bare-root rose gains weeks of root growth that a container-grown plant will lack. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, a bare-root rose ensures that you will be able to see the roots and correct any issues before properly planting into the prepared hole. Container-grown roses lack this option unless you take the time to do a thorough root-washing to remove all of the soil prior to planting (always a good idea but more on that in another post).

So without further adieu, here is a how-to for planting bare-root roses.

1. Un-package the roses and hydrate as soon as they arrive. Hydration can occur in buckets or kiddie pools. Place the roses right-side up into the selected vessel and add water. Water height must completely cover the roots but can also cover the canes. Hydration can occur up to 1 day prior to planting but should occur for a minimum of 8 hours.

2. The tops of the rose canes were originally cut with a saw in the field prior to being dug up. It’s imperative that these ragged cuts are removed. Give each cane a fresh cut by making a 45 degree angled cut ½” above an outward-facing bud eye. Prune as high up on the cane as possible as a light pruning equals more blooms.

3. Roots will often be broken in transit. Prune off any dead or damaged roots just above the damaged area.

4. Dig holes for roses 18” wide by 18” deep.

5. Form a cone shape (volcano) in the bottom center of the hole using the removed soil. Lay down a stick spanning across the hole and place the rose roots on top of the cone, splaying the roots around the cone. Judge the height of the cone to ensure that the crown of the rose is 2” higher than the ground using the stick as a measuring tool. Adjust the height of the soil cone as required to attain this desired planting height.

6. Once again, ensure that the roots are spread out over the soil cone. Rotate the rose in the hole to ensure that all of the bud eyes and the bud union face towards the path of the sun (south). Doing so ensures maximum basal cane growth.

7. Fill the hole with the native soil that you removed from the hole, firming gently to ensure roots have good soil contact.

8. Once hole is completely filled, make a basin around the rose for water retention.

9. Pour a bucket of water into the basin to settle the soil. After the water has drained, add additional soil as required to fill in any settling that may have occurred. Maintain a basin around the rose for future water capture.

10. Lay dripline irrigation at base of rose.

11. Mulch up and around the rose canes to keep them hydrated until the first growth begins.

12. Once first growth is seen on the canes, mulch should be swept off of the canes. Mulch should be placed over the soil surrounding the rose for water retention and weed suppression.

Now step back and admire a well-planted rose that will provide you with years of beauty and fragrance!

Nadine

Growing Ranunculus from corm to bloom

Posted on January 31, 2023February 19, 2023 by Blumen Fields Flower Farm

Growing Ranunculus - A How-To From Corm to Bloom

Ranunculus are the darling of any spring bouquet. Fluffy, romantic, rose-like blossoms made of tissue-thin petals that almost look too perfect to be real. They are well loved by floral designers because they come in a wide range of colours, and have the soft, romantic look of a rose but last much longer in a vase.

Ranunculus are not often seen in home gardens because the corms are not often sold in garden centres but they make a great addition to a container or garden bed and are relatively easy to grow.

Here’s how to grow ranunculus like a pro.

First things first. Ranunculus grow from corms.

A corm serves the same purpose as a tuber or a bulb in that it is a thick, solid underground mass that stores starch as food for the eventual plant. But unlike tubers, corms tend to be slightly round and flattened. And unlike bulbs, corms do not produce layers (like an onion bulb).

Other plants that produce corms are anemones, gladiolus, liatris, and crocosmia.

The leaves and buds of the ranunculus will form from the top of the corm and the roots will form from the bottom.

While corms of different plants can look more bulb-like, ranunculus corms look like baby octopuses. This makes it easy to identify and also really easy to plant because unlike some other corms that are difficult to tell which side is up, ranunculus have a clear top and bottom.

Plant your ranunculus corm with the “fingers” pointing down.

When you purchase ranunculus corms they will be small, dried, and hard. This is the hibernating form of the corm that would occur naturally in its native Mediterranean region over the hot, dry summer months.

In order to wake these corms up it is essential to mimic the Mediterranean winter rainy season by either soaking the corms in buckets of water or planting them directly into the soil and keeping the soil very moist until the first sprouts are seen. Here on the flower farm, we choose to soak the corms in buckets of water and pre-sprout them into growing medium prior to planting them out. This allows us to get an earlier start on the blooms. This is an easy enough process for a home gardener to do but you can also plant the corms directly into the garden or a container and keep the soil moist (but not soggy because the corms and new roots will rot in excessive moisture). They will take a little longer to get started when planted directly but they will still successfully grow and bloom.

If you decide to try soaking and pre-sprouting, soak the corms in a bucket of water for 2-4 hours. It is imperative that the water stay oxygenated so leave a trickle of water running from the tap into the bucket. The soaked corms can be planted directly into the garden or they can be pre-sprouted by layering them in a tray with 2.5cm (1in) of dampened soilless medium both on the bottom and top of the corms. The corms will form roots and small buds within approximately 10 days and should be planted out into their final location at this time.

Ranunculus before and after a 2 hour water soak. The “fingers” of the corm on the right are fully plumped and ready for planting.

As with all plants, if we can mimic the conditions of the native environment, our ranunculus will grow happy and healthy. Knowing that they will begin to sprout after a rainy, Mediterranean winter breaks the dry dormancy and that they will go dormant again when the soil gets hot and dry, we can predict that ranunculus prefer to grow in the cool days of spring. Thus, corms should be planted as early as possible in the spring into a sunny location.

Plant the corms 15cm (6in) to 22cm (9in) apart and 2.5cm (1in) deep. The corms can easily be planted into a container as they have a very shallow root system and do not require much depth for growing.

When finding the perfect planting location, try to avoid an area with overhead watering as ranunculus foliage is highly susceptible to powdery mildew.

Approximately 90 days after planting, your ranunculus will begin blooming and its beautiful show will last for 4-6 weeks. The bloom time will be cut short if the temperatures start to soar so be prepared to provide a little shade if you want to extend the bloom.

Once the blooms have finished and the summer is heating up, the ranunculus foliage will begin to yellow and die back, preparing for the dormancy of another hot summer.

Corms are hardy to zone 8, so in the Okanagan they will either need to be dug out after they have gone dormant in the summer and stored dry, or they need to be planted into a container that can be stored dry in a heated garage for the winter.

Now you’re all ready to try your hand at growing ranunculus in your own garden. Already tried these beauties? Drop us a line and let us know how the experience was for you.

Nadine

Foraging for Holiday Greens

Posted on December 14, 2022December 15, 2022 by Blumen Fields Flower Farm

Holiday Greens - Tips for Sustainable Foraging

While there is no arguing that fresh greenery adds an unmistakable festive air to holiday decorating, the way in which one forages for greenery can have negative impacts on the environment. Here are some tips to allow you to harvest in a sustainable way.

Whether you are harvesting mushrooms from the forest floor, berries for a delicious jam, or the aforementioned holiday greens, it is important to only take what you need and to leave enough for the plant to continue to thrive. The plant needs to have enough spores, seeds, leaves, flowers, etc. remaining after you have harvested to be able to continue to flourish and produce another generation. A general rule of thumb with berries and mushrooms is to only take up to 50% of what you see. Holiday greens are different, of course, because you are harvesting the stems and leaves of the plant, thereby reducing its ability to photosynthesize and produce food for itself. A sustainable way to harvest these branches is to only take a couple of branches from each tree. This is especially important on small shrubs or young evergreens that don’t have as many branches/leaves to sustain them.

When harvesting branches, it is extremely important to make proper pruning cuts to avoid leaving ragged wounds that can leave the tree vunerable to disease.

Ensure that the pruners you take out with you are sharp and give them a good cleaning and a wipe with alcohol prior to going out forging. This cleanliness will ensure that you are not going to be importing any pathogens from your cultivated garden into the forest.

A basic understanding of pruning cuts is necessary to ensure that you leave the plant in the best possible condition to continue to grow after your foraging expedition. Every cut should be made cleanly so that the plant is not torn or bruised. If a branch is accidentally broken or torn, make a new, clean cut further down the branch. Always cut on a diagonal at about 45 degrees to ensure that water cannot collect on the cut which encourages fungal rot. Cuts should always be made just above a bud, at a fork on a branch, or just outside of the branch collar. If you are unfamiliar with any of these locations, educate yourself prior to heading out to forage.

Lastly, observe the area around you when foraging to avoid trampling sensitive areas or disturbing wildlife. Foragers not paying attention to their surroundings may accidentally damage delicate ecosystems.

Foraging for greenery can be a truly enjoyable activity but it is important to do so responsibly in order to minimize the negative impacts on the environment.

When you deck your halls, please do so in a way that allows you to responsibly enjoy the bounty of the natural world.

Nadine

Signature bouquet wraps

Posted on July 24, 2021December 15, 2022 by Blumen Fields Flower Farm

Community Collaboration Creates Blumen Fields’ New Signature Look

Blumen Fields Flower Farm was born out of the desire to make the flower industry more sustainable, one beautiful bloom at a time. Now, thanks to a partnership with Frog Friendly Coffee in Canoe, BC, we have been able to up-cycle their coffee bags to create the new Blumen Fields signature burlap bouquet wrap.

As the only coffee company in Canada that owns their supply chain from source to cup, Frog Friendly Coffee is a leader in environmental stewardship and we have the utmost admiration for everything that they do. This collaboration allowed us to replace the single-use craft paper we were previously using for a prettier, eco-friendly option, which is a true win-win and something we can all feel good about.

Once you unwrap your local, farm-fresh bouquet, there are many different ways you can also use the burlap. It can be composted, used as mulch, become part of a craft creation, or simply be returned to us for use on another bouquet. How will you plan to use your wrap? Share your up-cycle story with us on Facebook or Instagram, we would love to see your ideas!

As always, thank you so much for choosing to support local!

“It is our collective and individual responsibility … to preserve and tend to the world in which we all live.” —Dalai Lama