skip to main content

It’s a change of altitude, or why your noble fir Christmas wreath will last so long

Posted on by Neal

If you’ve ever seen the movie “A Christmas Story,” (if not, TBS plays it 12 times in a row starting on Christmas Eve) you might recall the scene when the Parkers venture to a tree lot.

“This isn’t one of those trees that all the needles falls off, is it?” asks Mrs. Parker.

The salesman responds: “No, that’s them balsams.”

Balsam fir is one of the most fragrant of Christmas tree species, but as the line from the movie suggests, it has a warranted reputation for shedding needles.

While Connells Maple Lee doesn’t sell Christmas trees, we offer a wide range of fresh Christmas wreaths. Traditionally, they were made from balsam fir and delivered a solid value for our customers.

In recent years, however, after noticing a decline in the quality of the balsam wreaths, we switched to noble fir wreaths. They vary in size and come undecorated or adorned with the likes of pine cones, red berries and juniper. Bows and balls can be added, too.

Connells Maple Lee also offers silk balsam wreaths that are priced comparable to the old fresh balsam wreaths.

Cheryl Brill, Connells Maple Lee’s chief operating officer, said that the balsam wreaths were not constructed as well as they had been, perhaps because of a shortage of labor that required earlier and earlier production schedules.

“And there’s been an awful lot of drought,” she said. “Evergreens don’t respond well to that. When you cut them extra early to produce wreaths and then you’ve been having a drought situation, you end up with naked wreaths by the end of the season.”

‘Noble in stature’

If you aren’t familiar with noble fir, consider that it has been referred to as “the Cadillac of Christmas trees” and “the king of holiday greens.”

Here’s how The Real Christmas Tree Board, a national promotion and research organization funded by North American Christmas tree growers, describes the noble fir:

“Noble in name and stature, this stately tree features short, blue-green needles. The Noble fir has some of the best needle retention among Christmas tree species, with stiff branches and an attractive form to handle heavy ornaments. You’ll also find it used as greenery for wreaths and garland.”

To understand why noble fir is superior to balsam fir in needle retention, it helps to understand where the trees grow.

Balsam fir is grown in Canada, the northeastern states, the upper Great Lakes and Pennsylvania, according to The Real Christmas Tree Board; most noble fir is grown in the Pacific Northwest, at a significantly higher altitude than balsam. Continental Floral Greens, the maker of our noble wreaths, harvests the trees on the slopes of Mount St. Helens.

Nobles must be sturdy enough to withstand high winds. They also face 60 inches of rain annually and plenty of frost, which are key factors in their superior moisture and needle retention.

The noble wreaths are more expensive than the balsam wreaths, which reflects the longer growing time for noble and the shipping distance from Washington State.

While switching from traditional balsam wasn’t an easy decision, Brill noted that it was motivated by a desire to offer a better-constructed, longer-lasting option to customers.

“The main thing is their longevity,” she said of the noble. “And they are a very pretty wreath. The fir is fluffier because the needles are kind of rounded. It’s not a flat branch like a balsam is. So it has more dimension to it. They’ve always been my favorite.”

For holiday decorating, DIY and do what you like

Posted on by Neal

At the top of this year’s Christmas list, let’s take some of the hectic out of holiday decorating.

’Tis the season to be jolly, but it also can be a time of great stress. While Hallmark movies and Pinterest boards can be great sources of inspiration, don’t underestimate your own style and creativity when it comes to design and budget.

You can do it yourself and do it your way.

That’s the message from company designers Kim Orris and Steven Shughart, who shared their secrets for less restive, more festive holiday home decorating.

Span the holidays

Santa rides in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. You might put your Christmas tree up before taking the first bite of Thanksgiving turkey. The two holidays flow into one another like gravy across a scoop of mashed potatoes.

In that spirit, you can use a pine wreath as a Thanksgiving centerpiece before hanging it on your front door during Christmas. Wreaths also can be hung inside on a door or wall.

Borrow from nature

To enhance a centerpiece, consider taking a walk. It’s not only good for mind and body, but you can find branches, leaves, pine cones, acorns to bring the outside inside.

“You can go on a walk and clip a branch and put it in a vase,” Steven said. “You see that in almost any magazine anymore.”

“And along with our gift items, it looks gorgeous,” Kim said.

Embrace what’s free

What’s more, what you find outside costs nothing.

“Sometimes the free stuff is what really makes a house feel lived in, like it’s collected,” Steven said.

You also can save money by using items you already have, such as filling a vase or bowl with Christmas balls.

Improvise

“You don’t have to have the oval centerpiece with the two candles,” Steven said.

“Or you can have that and add to it with the branches or the balls or the greenery just spread around,” Kim said. Or run a small set of battery-powered lights down the table.

If you’re having a holiday party, consider buying a handful of flowers and spreading the heads on the table.

“It doesn’t have to be designed,” Kim said.

Ultimately, there is no single way to deck the halls. You should find comfort and joy in doing what pleases your eye.

“If you like it, it works,” Steven said.

Connells Maple Lee Flowers saluting veterans Nov. 11 with free red, white and blue bouquets

Posted on by Neal

Connells Maple Lee Flowers & Gifts will give away red, white and blue bouquets to military veterans on Nov. 11, Veterans Day.

The bouquets – featuring a red carnation, a white carnation and a blue bow – will be available in-store only at 3014 E. Broad St., Bexley; 2033 Stringtown Road, Grove City; and 8573 Owenfield Drive, Powell. You’ll find store hours here.

“This is one of our favorite events each year,” said Tom Royer, president and CEO of family-owned Connells Maple Lee. “It is our honor and privilege to recognize the men and women who give so much to protect our freedom.”

Non-veterans may purchase the bouquets for $2.20 each.

Connells Maple Lee Kids Club offering free ‘spooky succulents’ with first virtual event

Posted on by Neal

Children of an earlier time did the monster mash. The Connells Maple Lee Flowers & Gifts Kids Club has an updated take on Halloween: spooky succulents.

The kids club is celebrating the season with its first virtual event, offering free take-home kits that will allow children ages 5 to 12 to decorate a Halloween tin with a succulent plant.

Kits include a tin decorated with a jack-o-lantern, mummy or Dracula; two-inch succulent; cellophane for lining the tin; instruction sheet with QR code linking to a video with assembly and plant-care tips; and a Halloween coloring sheet.

Kits must be reserved at cmlflowers.com/kidsclub while supplies last, limit three per family. In-store pickup of the kits will be available Oct. 19-24.

Connells Maple Lee is encouraging moms and dads to send photos of their child’s completed project to kidsclub@cmlflowers.com for sharing on social media.

Connells Maple Lee introduces ‘Proven Winners’ foliage plants

Posted on by Neal

A truck set out in early August on a journey into the future of foliage plants.

It’s destination was a 200-acre farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia, in the town of Stuarts Draft. On that farm lies a five-acre building that from above looks like nothing so much as a gigantic Lego piece (photo, below).

It’s a state-of-the art greenhouse where The Plant Co., which was birthed during the pandemic, is drawing on one family’s decades of floriculture experience and the latest technology in a quest to “reinvent the houseplant industry.”

The truck returned from Stuarts Draft with 18 different plant varieties that retail for $15 to $50 each, many of them destined for Connells Maple Lee stores. Marketed under the “Proven Winners” brand, they’ve been an immediate hit with customers and employees alike, with many of them selling out.

Connells Maple Lee, along with its sister company in Pennsylvania, are the first florists to carry The Plant Co.’s products.

“It was amazing to see how many of our own people purchased the Proven Winners plants as soon as they came in,” said Cheryl Brill, Connells Maple Lee’s chief operating officer.

Connells Maple Lee first got to know The Plant Co. this spring when they attended the International Floriculture Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Within weeks, the two companies were trading visits, including one to the massive greenhouse in Virginia, which opened in 2020.

Tissue culture

“This is all great stuff,” recalled Connells Maple Lee CEO Tom Royer, upon seeing the plants.

Royer noted that in the past 30 years, mass marketers began offering foliage plants. Florida growers either catered to those customers, turning plants into mere commodities, or went out of business altogether.

The result was plants that weren’t as special as they once were. That left fertile ground for The Plant Co., the brainchild of founders and brothers-in-law Jason Van Wingerden and Frank Paul.

Just as four generations of Royers have made the family name synonymous with flower shops, the Van Wingerden family is deeply rooted in the greenhouse trade. It began with Aart and Cora Van Wingerden, who arrived from Holland in 1948 and started a greenhouse business in New Jersey, spawning many other similar enterprises.

The Plant Co. greenhouse in Stuarts Draft, Va.

Jason Van Wingerden, a grandson of Aart and Cora, worked at Green Circle Growers in Oberlin, Ohio, which Jason’s father started in 1968. Green Circle comprises 150 acres of indoor growing space, making it one of the largest greenhouses in the United States. Frank Paul was Green Circle’s former head grower of orchids.

The brothers-in-law settled on western Virginia for its climate, proximity to interstates 81 and 64, and high-quality well water, said Ben Wright, The Plant Co.’s national account manager.

The elevation in the Blue Ridge Mountains means warm days, cool nights and “good, consistent quality growth year-round,” Wright said.

The Plant Co.’s products begin as tissue culture in test tubes, arriving from labs around the world, before they are rooted in soil in the greenhouse. Tissue culture makes the plants cleaner and less prone to disease.

Ease of care and use

The greenhouse’s 21-foot ceilings keep plants cooler, as do metal poles that are powder coated white to absorb less heat.

Thirteen layers of sand and gravel sit below capillary mats. Plants are watered from below through the mats, then the water drains back into holding tanks so it isn’t wasted.

Carbon dioxide from the greenhouse’s high-efficiency natural gas boilers is captured and pumped into the greenhouse to encourage plant growth.

The plants are promoted for their quality but also for their ease of care and use. The plants are sold with tags that include the variety name, genus and species and information about where to use them within a room and how to care for them.

The goal is to embolden consumers who haven’t had success with plants in the past.

“And so they kind of discover that green thumb,” Wright said.

Connells Maple Lee invites public to name new fall arrangement

Posted on by Neal

If hot summer weather doesn’t make you yearn for fall, then Connells Maple Lee Flowers & Gifts’ annual name-the-arrangement contest surely will.

The new all-around arrangement features an autumnal color palette: lavender glass vase, orange rose and orange carnations, purple statice, red alstroemeria, sunflower. It measures 14 inches high and 11 inches wide.

The arrangement has a product number, but Connells Maple Lee is asking for help with a name.

One winner and one runner-up will be selected from entries received by Connells Maple Lee and its sister company in Pennsylvania. Both the winner and runner-up will receive the arrangement (retail value $34.99) as their prize.

The arrangement will debut this fall and will be available in all stores and as part of Connells Maple Lee’s direct-ship program serving the Lower 48 states.

To view the arrangement and enter the contest, visit cmlflowers.com/contest. Limit one entry daily per email address, through Aug. 5.

Family-owned Connells Maple Lee (cmlflowers.com) has stores at 3014 E. Broad St., Bexley; 2033 Stringtown Road, Grove City; and 8573 Owenfield Drive, Powell. 

Connells Maple Lee Flowers accepting entries for kids club birthday card contest through July 15

Posted on by Neal
The winning entry in 2022

The Royer’s Flowers & Gifts Kids Club is looking for its next birthday card design.

Children ages 5 to 12 are eligible to participate in the kids club’s annual design contest. The winner will receive a free bouquet delivery on his or her birthday.

The card is emailed to kids club members on their birthdays.

Entries must be dropped off by July 15 at one of Connells Maple Lee’s three stores: 3014 E. Broad St., Bexley; 2033 Stringtown Road, Grove City; and 8573 Owenfield Drive, Powell. 

To download an entry form (and to join the kids club at no cost), visit cmlflowers.com/kidsclub.

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.

Let’s look behind the scenes and in the tool box at a flower shop

Posted on by Neal

Flowers are beautiful all on their own, but it takes talent and dedication to hand-craft an eye-catching, long-lasting floral arrangement and deliver it to a recipient’s home or place of work.

In its newsletter, the Connells Maple Lee Flowers & Gifts Kids Club regularly showcases the tools and tricks of the trade that our florists draw upon to do the very best work for our customers.

We’ve compiled some of them below. We hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look into the dynamic nature of a flower shop.

Apron

Superman wears a red cape on his back. Connells Maple Lee designers have something similar, except they wear it on the front.

It’s an apron, and its pockets hold all the tools they need to be floral super heroes: a knife to cut flowers; scissors to cut thicker stems or ribbon; calculator to add flower prices; pen/pencil to take notes from a customer; highlighter to mark special delivery times and other can’t-miss information; permanent marker to identify the contents of boxes before they are packed away; even a mini-screwdriver in case something needs tightening.

Aprons are embroidered with the Connells Maple Lee logo and have a place for a name tag so customers can identify the designer and how long he or she has been with the company.

Tape Grid

The tape at the top of these vases looks like a game of tic-tac-toe, doesn’t it? It’s a tape grid, and it helps us space flower stems evenly. It also provides support to the stems so they stand tall and look their best.

Tape

We use three types of tape depending on the color of the container we are using: clear tape for glass, white tape for white containers, and green tape for baskets and other dark non-glass containers.

The reason for the different colors is that we want our customers to focus on their beautiful flowers and not the tape.

Floral Foam

Those green blocks in the photo are called floral foam. The foam holds cut flower stems in place to make arrangements look pretty. It also holds water so the flowers last as long as possible.

Scissors

If you use scissors for craft projects at school or home, you might have a future working in a flower shop! We use several different types of scissors in our stores. Some are just for cutting flowers, some are made to cut thicker stems such as evergreens or lemon leaf, and others are just for cutting ribbon. We never use ribbon scissors on flowers because the blades would get dull and wouldn’t cut the fabric straight.

No matter what you do with scissors, it’s always important to use them safely.

Uniforms

If you play soccer or baseball or another sport for a team, then you probably wear a uniform. Maybe it includes a shirt with your team’s name on front and your number on the back.

Connells Maple Lee employees are part of a team, too. They might not be kicking or throwing balls, but they are constantly in motion. They practice how to make beautiful arrangements so they are ready for their big games, such as Valentine’s Day or Christmas.

They wear uniforms, too. They wear the Connells Maple Lee logo on their shirts because it helps to make each employee feel and work like part of a unified team. It also makes it easy for customers to know who they can ask for help.

Plastic Wrap

When we sell flowers, we put them in pretty plastic wrap. It’s kind of like when you wear a coat or sweater: the wrap helps keep the flowers warm and protects them from the wind when they go outside. The wrap also makes the flowers look extra special, like a gift. 

Delivery Vans/Drivers

Our delivery vans and the men and women who drive them are crucial to the success of our business.

Once one of our designers creates a gorgeous flower arrangement, it’s up to our drivers to deliver them safely and on time. Of course, the flowers have to look as good as they did when they left the store, which can be a big challenge when it’s really hot or cold or stormy.

Our drivers might be the only Connells Maple Lee employee whom customers see if they ordered over the phone or online. So we have to hire people who are safe drivers but also happy and friendly and keep their uniforms and vans clean because they represent our company.

Drivers have a lot of responsibility, but they also have the good fortune to deliver presents of flowers to people.

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.