http://articles.sendflowersorgifts.com/rss.xml A blog about sendflowersorgifts.com daily 365 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://articles.sendflowersorgifts.com/?a=35736 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Though beautiful, a rose can hurt. After all, every rose has its thorns. All sorts of myths symbolize the danger of these little daggers. According to Greek Mythology, Cupid shot arrows into a rose bush after he was stung by a bee, and the pain from his arrow thus caused the thorns to sprout. <br /><br />Don't cry though if these sharp points have poked you more than once. You took can remove these little darts and create a smooth stemmed rose with just a little care and patience. <br /><br />Note this: thorns have a purpose. They help the plant drink water, and thus when you remove the thorn, you should be careful to not inflict any excessive damage to the stem. Utilize a proper dethorning technique to avoid injuring the rose. Carelessly dethorning a rose will shorten the life of the flower as the peeled or torn skin will hinder the amount of water the stem can take. <br /><br />When removing the thorns, you have two choices: wait until the stem is cut or do it while the stem is still attached to the plant. Remove the thorns while the plant is still young and before the rose blooms if you know that a gardener will be cutting the stem in the future for display or for a bouquet. To remove the thorns, apply slight pressure to the sides and then push them off the stem. Do the same with cut stems. <br /><br />A thorn stripper will help you dethrone roses as well. This strips the stem of leaves and thorns. You can make your own with metal strapping from a hardware store, but if you do, file the edges that touch the flower so you do not tear the stem excessively. <br /><br />To dethrone the stem with this homemade tool, hold it below the flower and then close the jaws around the stem. Don't use too much pressure because you could damage or even sever the stem. Drag the dethorner down the stem and watch the thorns pop off. Getting the hang of using this tool will take time, but practice makes perfect, and soon you'll know exactly how much pressure to use. <br /><br />A knife works well to remove thorns as well. Just scrape the stem of the rose with a sharp floral or pairing knife. When removing the thorns from a cut stem, consider removing just the thorns and leaves below the water level. <br /><br />Think carefully about the look of the rose before trying to remove every thorn and leaf. Consider the flower's use, and then remove thorns as necessary. Again, dethorning the flower can shorten its life, so don't overdo it. <br /><br />Consider dethorning especially when you need more plant litter for your compost pile. The extra thorns and stems will help build up your lacking pile, and in the end, make handling flowers safer to for you to work with.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as flowers online at <a href="http://www.sendflowersorgifts.com/">http://www.sendflowersorgifts.com</a></p> 2006-09-16T14:18-04:00 http://articles.sendflowersorgifts.com/?a=35735 <p>by Gregg Hall </p><p>Who can resist the beauty of a rose? Its soft delicate petals call to those who see it, begging people to touch them. One of the most prized flowers in a garden, rose varieties exist in abundance. A gardener could plant acres and acres of them, and each rosebush could bear a different color and variety of flower. Royalty and peasants alike have celebrated the scent and delicate beauty of this flower for centuries. No matter their station in life, individuals appreciate the unique and delicate beauty of this coveted flower. Roses still hold importance in flower gardening today. <br /><br />When a gardener considers whether or not to plant, cultivate, and prune this cherished flower, he has dozens of choices ahead of him. First, he must consider the climate of where he will grow his roses. Roses prefer temperate climates and soil with good drainage. Thirsty plants, these bushes prefer long rainy seasons. If your climate leans towards the hot and dry, search for the rose breed that can withstand your extreme temperatures and lack of moisture. Thanks to scientific technology, rose growers and breeders are constantly working to develop hardier roses that can withstand the extremes of both hot and cold climates. <br /><br />After finding the best plant for his climate, a gardener must consider the different colors, scents, and sizes available. Breeders grow some roses with their focus only as beauty, and thus the rose might not have a strong scent. And other types of roses emit such a strong scent that their fragrance can fill your yard. In the end, the type of rose depends on the gardener, but the majority of rose gardeners try to find something that has both a pleasant but not overpower scent and a beautiful color. <br /><br />Colors abound in these plants. From deep magentas to even black, a skilled gardener can coax just about any color of rose to grow. Gardeners will have a variety of hues to choose from when shopping for your rose bushes, so they must pick carefully the one that they think will best complement their garden overall. The right rose has the potential to accentuate both their yard and home in a beautiful way. They may consider a rose that will contrast with their house color and thus stand out in the long run, or maybe they want to stick with a monochromatic theme and shoot for a rose that matches their home perfectly. <br /><br />Regardless of the color or type, roses will always be a popular flower. Women dream of them, and men fork over a bundle of cash for them. Their finicky climate requirements make them rare, and because of this, the gardeners who grow them appreciate their delicate scent and beauty that makes them so unique.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as flowers online at <a href="http://www.sendflowersorgifts.com/">http://www.sendflowersorgifts.com</a></p> 2006-09-16T14:15-04:00