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Category: Plants

Keeping Pets Safe Around Holiday Plants

Posted on by Amber

Plants are a beautiful, traditional way to celebrate the holidays. 

However, some of the plants associated with Christmas are dangerous to our furry friends. If you have a pet and are planning to use live plants to decorate for the holidays, it’s important to know which plants are toxic to pets and how to keep your pets safe.

Holiday plants that are dangerous for pets

Mistletoe

According to the Pet Poison Helpline the American and European variety of mistletoe are not good for animals. Although both types can cause issues for pets, the European variety is the most toxic.

Signs that your pet has ingested mistletoe includes drooling, vomiting and diarrhea which is all caused from the polysaccharides, alkaloids and lectins in the berries on the mistletoe. If a large amount of berries are eaten there can be more serious side effects such as an abnormal heart rate, low blood pressure, ataxia, seizures, collapse and even death.

Holly

The English, Japanese and Chinese varieties of holly have toxic saponins, according to the Pet Poison Helpline.

English holly is the traditional plant used for Christmas decorating. Signs an animal has eaten holly includes vomiting and diarrhea.

Poinsettia

Arguably the most popular Christmas plant besides actual Christmas trees, poinsettias can be found in many houses during the holiday season. These plants are often used to decorate for holiday parties and grace entryways and are often given as gifts.

Contrary to myths, which are hypothesized to have started over a hundred years ago after a child was found dead next to a poinsettia, they are not deadly.

According to the National Capital Poison Center, poinsettias can cause some issues like vomiting, nausea and diarrhea when eaten by pets, but it will not kill them. Some pets may also experience skin irritation if they brush up against the plant.

Amaryllis

The ASPCA states that Amaryllis plants are toxic to dogs, cats and horses because they have lycorine. When ingested, Amaryllis can cause animals to have vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hypersalivation, anorexia, tremors and depression.

What to do if your pet eats any of these plants

If you even suspect your pet has eaten any parts of these holiday plants immediately seek veterinary assistance and contact either of these hotlines:

  • ASPCA 24/7 Poison Control Hotline: 888-426-4435
  • Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661

Tips for keeping pets away from dangerous plants

If you are planning on having any of the listed plants in your home and have pets, it is imperative that you take precautions to keep them away from your animals.

Keep your plants in rooms your pets are not allowed in or place them high up in areas they don’t go, such as on the kitchen table. Consider using the plants as decorations for your front porch as opposed to inside with your pets.

Make sure that even if the plants are out of reach that no debris like leaves or petals fall on the floor where a curious critter can find them.

Place the numbers for the previously listed pet poison hotlines somewhere you can immediately access, like on the fridge, just in case of an accident.

Pet safe holiday plants

Rosemary and christmas cactuses are both non-toxic holiday plant options for those with pets who find a way to get into everything. 

Rosemary is often shaped to look like a mini Christmas tree for the holiday season. Christmas cactuses add a pop of color with their bright pinkish-red flowers in bloom. Both are safe and festive options for households with pets.

If preventative measures are taken and you are observant of your pet, your holiday plants and pets can safely coexist together.

Spooky plants to celebrate Halloween

Posted on by Amber

Plants are the perfect decor all year round. They brighten rooms and provide multiple mental and physical health benefits.

Although often overlooked for the fall season, there are many plants that give off “spooky” vibes that will compliment Halloween decorations. Consider including these plants in your Halloween decor this year:

Ficus Elastica Ghost Rider

This rare plant gets its name from the spectral-like coloring of its leaves. Green and “ghostly” white patches are dotted along the leaves of this plant. The red and orange petioles also compliment the season’s colors.

Ficus Belize

This plant screams dark academia. The pink splotches amongst the dark green create an eerie and dramatic effect. It’s a show stopper and would pair nicely with Halloween decor.

Philodendron White Wizard

The White Wizard looks like someone cast a spell on the plant causing parts of its leaves to turn white. Each plant is unique in its coloring and can range from white dots on the green leaves, half of the leaf being white or a full white leaf. Some of the leaves seem like they were dipped in white paint.

This would be a nice plant to pair with ghost decorations and white pumpkins.

Monstera Spotsylvania

This plant has unique holes in the leaves that give it a creepy and ghostly look. The white spots also add to the effect. It looks like something that could come from the Little Shop of Horrors.

This next list includes plants that aren’t spooky themselves, but with creative containers and effects, have been curated to seamlessly integrate into any Halloween scene.

Spooky potted plants

Arachnid Spell

Imagine if a witch cast a spell on a cactus to grow legs like a spider, but the cactus got stuck in the cauldron. That’s what this plant setup looks like. The cactus and cauldron act as the “body” of the spider and are held up by eight thin and long legs, giving the spider effect. 

Consider sitting this on top of a mirror to enhance the “creepy, crawly” image.

Na’maste Dead collection

These three zombies have swapped their brains for air plants! The trio features three green zombies meditating – one with his arms by their side, one with their hands in a prayer pose at their chest and one who is holding their head over their body. Find your inner zen this Halloween with these unexpectedly calm creatures.

Meddling Kids trio

Frankenstein, a witch and a pumpkin are featured in this group. They each have an air plant protruding from their head and mischievous looks on their faces. They would add a unique touch to any Halloween decor and their air plants can be removed and placed in other containers after the season.

The Boo Brothers

This scary cute ghost comes in a variety of expressions and includes a succulent. The succulent is simple to take care of and will last well beyond Halloween.

When winter weighs you down, houseplants can lighten your mood

Posted on by Neal
Indoor plants make us happier and healthier, according to multiple studies. (Photo: Proven Winners)

A sense of gloom might hit you in the aftermath of the holiday season, but it’s probably not just because you put the string lights away.

There’s a link between shortened daylight hours in winter and seasonal depression. Some 4 to 6 percent of Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder, according to Washingtonian magazine, while more suffer from a lesser form known as the winter blues or winter doldrums.

Experts say that seeking out sunlight, a healthy diet, exercise, rest and the support of family and friends are ways to combat the doldrums.

Another way to improve your mood – in the winter but really year-round – is to bring nature into your home or workplace in the form of houseplants.

Multiple studies have found that indoor plants make us happier and healthier. It can take fewer than 20 minutes in the presence of plants to make us feel more at peace, according to the Washington Post.

“In one experiment, participants who spent even five to 10 minutes in a room with a few houseplants felt happier and more satisfied than those in a room without plants. In another study, participants felt more peaceful and positive after spending 15 minutes in a room close to a tall plant (about five feet) compared with other objects.”

Even post-pandemic, we spend most of our lives indoors. Houseplants make us feel more connected to the world outside and help our mental and physical health in many ways.

Reduce stress and anxiety

Time reported on a study in which researchers asked participants to re-pot a houseplant or complete a computer-based task.

“After working with plants, people reported feeling comfortable and soothed, and their blood pressure dropped. The computer task, on the other hand, caused them to feel uncomfortable and ‘artificial,’ and was associated with a spike in blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activity.”

The stress hormone cortisol, which is found in saliva, decreases when we are around plants.

Reduce depression

Houseplant sales spiked during the pandemic, helping people with their depression, anxiety and “sad days” of isolation, according to one seller of succulents and air plants. That sentiment jibes with a study conducted during stay-at-home orders in Bulgaria. People who had houseplants or a garden “experienced fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety than those who did not,” according to Time.

Introducing plants into your home enhances your mood and helps with loneliness and depression, NBC News reported, noting that “caring for a living thing gives us a purpose and is rewarding – especially when you see that living thing bloom and thrive.”

Improve air quality

Houseplants “essentially do the opposite of what we do when we breathe: release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide,” according to NBC News. “This not only freshens up the air, but also eliminates harmful toxins.”

NASA found that houseplants can remove up to 87 percent of air toxins in 24 hours.

Increase productivity

Multiple studies, according to Time, concluded that plants boost productivity: College students worked 12 percent faster when plants were added to a windowless computer lab; employees at a call center who had a view of plants made up to 7 percent more calls per hour than colleagues who couldn’t see plants; office workers were 15 percent more productive when plants were introduced into their workspace.

From Psychology Today: “Students and employees with a view of nature, either indoors or right outside their windows, were not only found to be more productive but also more alert, more attentive, more relaxed, in better moods, and less irritated by physical symptoms of allergies and asthma than their counterparts who had no views of plant life or other natural settings.”

Of course, winter eventually will give way to spring, but houseplants will ensure that you receive the benefits of nature no matter the time of year or the conditions outside.

Tips to Make the Most Out of Your Annual Plants

Posted on by Taylor

We see them just about everywhere around this time of year in hanging baskets, patio pots and arranged beautifully in garden beds. Annual plants, such as petunias, geraniums and begonias to name a few, complete their life cycle within a years’ time. Being both fairly easy to care for and their ability to look stunning all season long, annuals are perfect for any gardener, with or without experience.

During the pandemic many novice gardeners picked up the hobby of gardening though annual plants, transforming their garden space into a blooming oasis. Continue reading if you are new to these beautiful outdoor plants and would like a few care tips or would like to learn more about them.

LIGHT

Most annuals require full sun, at least six to eight hours daily. Annuals that thrive in the sun include geraniums, petunias and marigolds.

If partial shade is an option or necessity based on where you want to place the flowers, good varieties include begonias, impatiens, fuchsia and coleus.

WATER

Annuals don’t have deep roots because they focus on producing flowers. Be aware of outside conditions such as heat, direct sunlight and wind which can dry the soil out quickly.

Most annuals like soil that is slightly or evenly moist two to three inches down. A rule of thumb is that when the soil is dry one inch below the surface, its time to give the plant water.

The lush foliage of some annual plants can make it difficult for water to make its way down to its roots, so do more than “sprinkle”, water deeply.

When container gardening, check often for water and use containers with drainage holes.

NUTRIENTS

Container plants don’t come in nutrient-rich soil, rather a potting mix including peat moss. Providing your plants with a water-soluble fertilizer on a weekly basis, whether in the garden or in a container will help to make the plant as beautiful and healthy as possible.

NEW GROWTH

Sometimes annuals benefit from a bit of “refreshing” during the heat of the summer. Just pick or trim tired blooms and give them some water-soluble fertilizer and they’ll spring back.

By following these steps, you will be sure to enjoy healthy, vibrant annuals all summer long.

Extending the Life of Your Spring Bulbs

Posted on by Taylor

Even after the Easter Bunny has visited and the last eggs are hunted, Easter bulbs – such as daffodils (narcissus), hyacinths, and tulips will bring beauty and color into your home. In fact, you can make the flowers last a lot longer by following these few tips.

The key to making the blooms last longer is to keep the plants in a cool place, such as your garage or porch. For smaller plants, such as a single-bloom hyacinth, finding space in your refrigerator will work just as well. This will stall the normal aging process, extending the life of the blooms.

Keeping your bulbs in a cool place overnight or while at work will help extend the life of your bloom and allow for maximum enjoyment when you are at home. Not all bulbs are freeze tolerant so keep temperatures in mind, especially overnight.

Like any living plant, it’s also important to keep the plants watered. Most bulbs like to be watered at soil level rather than overhead. Do not overwater, the soil should not be saturated at all times.

After your bulb plants have finished blooming, let the plant die back into itself. Allowing the leaves to yellow and wither before removing will help nourish the bulb for the following year by. Keep in mind this is different from deadheading the bloom which can be beneficial to bulb growth.

Keep the bulb in its pot and store in a cool, dark place. In early fall, separate the bulbs and plant them in your garden in anticipation of their blooming again next spring. Be mindful that some bulbs will not come back depending on climates, among other reasons, following these tips does not guarantee that your bulbs will bloom again.

15 houseplants that will improve your indoor air quality

Posted on by Josh

Spider plant
Spider plant

For all of its exploration of the galaxy, the space program has accrued many benefits right here on earth. Thanks to NASA, we know that houseplants can purify the air in our homes and workplaces.
NASA originally focused on finding ways to purify the air in orbiting space stations. A 1973 space mission identified 107 volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that were emitted by the synthetic materials inside the spacecraft. It was clear that tightly sealed buildings, whether orbiting in space or on the ground, could cause health problems.

Sick building syndrome

Back on earth, spurred by the energy crisis of the 1970s, the building industry focused on making old and new structures more energy efficient. Without intending to, they also paved the way for trapping pollutants – or what is often called “sick building syndrome.”
Three of the pollutants found in spacecraft – benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene – also are present in homes and offices, emitted by everything from building materials to furnishings to office equipment. Air-tight buildings conserve energy and reduce heating and cooling costs, but they also trap these pollutants.

NASA found that certain houseplants, because they are good at absorbing gases, could remove indoor pollutants. Researchers suggested using one potted plant per 100 square feet of home or office space to improve indoor air quality. One study found that philodendron, spider plant and golden pothos removed 80 percent of the formaldehyde that was introduced into a sealed chamber.

If you want to improve the air quality of your space, you might consider bringing home some of these commonly recommended plants:
1. Heartleaf philodendron
2. Elephant ear philodendron
3. Cornstalk dracaena
4. English ivy
5. Spider plant
6. Janet Craig dracaena
7.Warneckii dracaena
8.Weeping fig
9. Golden pothos
10. Peace lily
11. Selloum philodendron
12. Chinese evergreen
13. Bamboo or reed palm
14. Snake plant
15. Red-edged dracaena
Sources: sunsethillsfoliage.com, coopext.colostate.edu
 

Shedding holiday light on the mystery that is mistletoe

Posted on by Neal


Oh, ho the mistletoe
Hung where you can see
Somebody waits for you
Kiss her once for me 
–“A Holly Jolly Christmas” 
Even if you’ve never seen mistletoe, much less smooched beneath it, it may have been a part of your holiday tradition since childhood.
That’s because the 1964 Christmas special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” features Burl Ives, in the voice of narrator Sam the Snowman, singing “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” All the while, prospector Yukon Cornelius hoists a tower of four elves hanging mistletoe and Rudolph gives the doe Clarice a peck on her cheek.
The poinsettia may be the most popular Christmas plant, but mistletoe seems to have the edge when it comes to appearances in Christmas songs. Everyone from Ives and Perry Como to Michael Buble and Alan Jackson has covered “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” Justin Bieber has a song titled, simply, “Mistletoe.”
For many of us, however, mistletoe is a mystery. Connells Maple Lee sells fresh poinsettias by the hundreds, in various sizes and varieties, but a much smaller quantity of preserved mistletoe, offered in a four-inch cluster with a bow packaged in a box.
“It’s a novelty more than anything now,” said Cheryl Brill, Connells Maple Lee’s chief operating officer. The typical customer is a young guy.

Not to be eaten

Yet while mistletoe is associated with kissing and Christmas, its role in nature is anything but beneficent. In fact, it’s the Grinch of holiday plants, an honest-to-goodness parasite.
“Mistletoe is an evergreen pest that attaches itself to trees, plants and shrubs, stealing their nutrients and water,” a CBS News story noted. “This can weaken or disfigure the host plant, and eventually even kill it.”
The genus name for North American oak mistletoe, the most common species in the eastern United States, is “phoradendron,” which is Greek for “tree thief.”
Mistletoe is difficult to remove because its seeds sprout and grow through the bark of trees and into their tissues, extending up and down within the branches.
“The most effective way to fight it is to remove an infected branch or limb entirely,” according to CBS.
Mistletoe has a misanthropic side, too. A person eating any part of it may experience drowsiness, blurred vision, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weakness or seizures. These symptoms are caused by phoratoxin, which can be found in mistletoe berries and especially in the leaves. (Several types of mistletoe can be poisonous to pets, too.)
“Throw in the fact that some species are poisonous, and mistletoe starts to seem less like something you’d spy mama kissing Santa under and more like something Krampus would plant on your Christmas tree,” an article on the National Geographic website noted.
Krampus is a half-goat, half-demon in folklore that punishes children who misbehave, in contrast with St. Nicholas rewarding well-behave children with gifts.

‘Mystic branch’

But in this season of giving, it seems only fair to consider mistletoe in a positive light. Because it steals water and nutrients, mistletoe stays green year-round and is a symbol of fertility to some people.
“The plant’s parasitic nature is probably why people began to think mistletoe was special enough to kiss under in the first place,” according to National Geographic.
In Europe, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute website, “mistletoe extracts are among the most prescribed therapies for cancer patients.” However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of mistletoe as a treatment for cancer or any other medical condition.
Ancient Anglo-Saxons noticed that mistletoe often grows near bird droppings, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Hence, its name derived from “mistel,” which means dung, and “tan,” which means twig. Therefore, mistletoe means “dung-on-a-twig.”
Studies suggest that when certain species of mistletoe were removed from ecosystems in Australia and Mexico, birds suffered.
As it matures, mistletoe can grow into thick, often rounded masses of branches and stems that can reach as big as five feet wide and 50 pounds and sometimes called “witches’ brooms.” Some birds, including wrens, chickadees, mourning doves and pygmy nuthatches, nest in these witches brooms.
Some butterflies lay their eggs in mistletoe, their young eating the leaves and adults (and some native bees) feeding on mistletoe nectar. Mistletoe’s white berries are a no-no for people, but they are favored in the fall and winter by the likes of deer, elk, squirrels, chipmunks and porcupines.
Clearly mistletoe endures as a symbol of Christmas joy and wonder. Charles Dickens, in the “Pickwick Papers” in the 1830s, called mistletoe the “mystic branch.”
The Hallmark Channel carries on that tradition with movies bearing titles such as, “Moonlight and Mistletoe, “The Mistletoe Promise,” and “The Mistletoe Secret.”
Of course, the happy ending is always sealed with a kiss.

Highlights from our fall catalog

Posted on by Neal


Every year, we introduce a fall catalog that contains approximately 20 percent new products. We asked Geoff Royer, a member of our product development team, to describe how some of the new arrangements came about. Here’s what he told us:
3617
One of the tasks of the product development team was to come up with more arrangements that are specific to birthdays. This arrangement does just that with the birthday bear that’s attached to the vase.
This is the fourth in our lineup of Big Hugs vases. We also have redesigned the baby boy and baby girl versions of that style.
3618 and 3619
We realized in the spring that we could do better on the pricing of the mini callas than we had before so we opted to develop a few arrangements with them.
3631 and 3633
This collection of arrangements is a new style for us, each one in a nine-inch glass bowl that we’d never carried before. We used them in some new lifestyle shots we are using to enhance our brochure and websites.
3644 (photo)
This addition features several flowers that are new to us, namely the Memphis daisy pom, charmellia alstromeria, and Nobbio cherry carnation.
We had featured Memphis at previous holidays. We loved the color and the lateral lengths on the daisy but no one grew it year-round until now.
Charmellia is a new product in the floral world. It lasts incredibly long and, as it opens, it changes from dark pink to a lighter pink.
The colors and variegation of the Nobbio cherry petals are like nothing we’d ever seen. This carnation is from a farm called Geoflora, which is associated with South American carnation breeder S.B. Talee.
Talee developed the Nobbio series in response to a Japanese market that wanted something beyond the standard red, white and pink combination with a longer stem length. We can take the sizes the Japanese markets don’t want at a good price.

Planting the seeds for a successful school year

Posted on by Neal

Air plants are great for cleaning air.

New shirts, new shoes. Backpacks and notebooks. No doubt, one or more of those items was on your shopping list if you’re a parent preparing a child for the first day of school.
Don’t forget a little something for your child’s teacher and classroom.
A plant is a great option, not only for aesthetic reasons but certain ones help to improve indoor air quality. What’s more, the presence of plants has been shown to boost productivity and reduce stress, which can enhance a learning environment.
With the help of Connells Maple Lee’s Cheryl Brill and other resources, we compiled a list of plants that will help sow the seeds for a great new school year.
Cheryl’s list started with Chinese evergreens (aka aglaonemas), peace lilies, philodendrons and spider plants, each of which is great for cleaning the air, she said. What’s more, they’re easy to take care of and don’t require a lot of bright light.
As their name suggests, spider plants have tendrils or plantlets that grow out from the mother plant.
“That would be kind of fun for a grade-school situation,” Cheryl said.
For more on plants and air quality, click here.

Classroom conversation

Meanwhile, air plants aren’t that effective at cleaning the air, Cheryl said, but they are intriguing because they grow without soil. Also known as tillandsia, air plants are a type of bromeliad and relative of the pineapple.
Air plant leaves have scales, called trichomes, that absorb water and nutrients from the air.
“We just dunk them in a bucket of water every week or so,” Cheryl said, suggesting how easy it is to care for air plants.
The air plant’s unique characteristics alone make for a great classroom conversation. What’s more, they’re available at Connells Maple Lee in quirky “thinkers” containers.
Thinkers is what we want students to be, after all. Another plant option that can captivate a classroom is a terrarium, which only needs to be watered weekly. Cheryl described them as “neat to look at” and as providing “a little tranquil spot.”
Heaven knows, a bustling school can use a tranquil spot or two.

Oh, Atlanta, we hear you calling

Posted on by Neal


We don’t procrastinate when it comes to holiday shopping. In fact, no sooner is one Christmas in the rearview mirror than we start planning for the next one.
It’s not that we’re eager for the passage of time. Rather, we’re beckoned by AmericasMart in Atlanta, which describes itself as the nation’s leading gift, home furnishings and area rug wholesale marketplace.
In Atlanta, we might purchase containers bearing a Christmas decoration, or snowflake or snowman stick-ins to complement an arrangement. We source Christmas décor at AmericasMart but also gifts that customers will give at the holidays, such as a picture frame.
A half-dozen Connells Maple Lee representatives visit AmericasMart’s three-building, 7 million-square-foot complex every January, buying gifts and arrangement accents for the next Christmas season, and again in July, when the focus will be on the next spring.

Focus on larger gifts

Jenni Eberly has made six trips to Atlanta, so she’s a veteran now. But as a first-time visitor, she found the experience daunting.
“It’s overwhelming,” she said, “looking at all that merchandise set out in the displays. Because then you have to take these huge displays and then pick out what you’re going to buy.”
As vast as AmericasMart is, Connells Maple Lee spends most of its time on five floral and holiday floors. In July, the group arrived in Atlanta on a Wednesday and worked through Friday. The pace is constant, and even lunch and dinner conversation turns to what each of them has seen from vendors.
Geoff Royer coordinates the Atlanta trips. He sets up meetings with specific vendors. He also arms each member of the Connells Maple Lee delegation with a folder that identifies, by holiday, items on their shopping list.
The needs range from broad to specific. In January, some of the focus was on larger gifts, such as clocks, afghans and pillows that are relatively new for Connells Maple Lee. In July, one of the goals was to find new versions of a heart stick-in and accent ribbon to give a new look to an existing arrangement.
Erica Bixby has been to Atlanta three times. With experience, she has learned to think beyond the initial appeal of new products to identify how they will work in Connells Maple Lee’s stores.
How will they complement other items, and will they work given the price at which they will have to sell, including once freight costs are factored in?
Something might look nice, Erica suggested, “but you can’t really sell it for $50.”

Moments of inspiration

Technology has made it easier to document the trips. Photos taken with a tablet or smart phone are invaluable for jogging memories. After all, Christmas giftware purchased in January won’t arrive until summer or fall.
Photos also capture moments of inspiration.
“I have a bunch of things that I liked for silks,” Erica said, with an eye toward Connells Maple Lee crafting similar arrangements in-house rather than buying them already made.
“Or I take pictures of displays that I’d like to duplicate in the stores,” Jenni added.
On her phone, Jenni pulled up a photo showing how one vendor used eye hooks and ropes to display pillows.
“It’s up, it’s still in the display, but it’s out of the way,” Jenni said, noting that pillows are vulnerable in a flower shop, where the need to water plants is constant.
One week after returning from the July trip, Erica and Jenni were looking at tables filled with arrangements being created or revamped for fall debuts. They estimated that 30 percent of the items were from Atlanta.
“That container, that container, that container,” Jenni said, pointing at specific arrangements. “That vase. Those deer [figures]. Those are all things that we picked up in January.”