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Category: Helpful tips

Christmas is a cold-weather holiday, but poinsettias like it warm

Posted on by Neal
Poinsettias are America’s No. 1 potted plant, with red being the most popular color.

Christmas is celebrated around the world, but it clearly leans into cold weather.Red poinsettias are the most popular color.

Santa lives at the North Pole, after all. Among the most common holiday imagery are snow-covered evergreens, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose.

But it doesn’t take a lot of sleuthing on the Internet to find a stock image of Santa unwinding after a globe-trotting Christmas Eve. He’s lounging in a beach chair, his red pant legs rolled up, his bare feet in sand. Often, there’s a colorful drink in his hand, a turquoise-blue body of water nearby.

It is the season of believing, after all. But if a sun-soaking Santa seems far-fetched to you, here’s a warm weather connection to Christmas that you don’t have to take on faith.

It’s a fact that the poinsettia – the official plant of Christmas – is native to Mexico. It’s a tropical plant that finds its comfort zone between 65 to 70 degrees during the day.

Despite having only a six-week selling season, poinsettias are America’s No. 1 potted plant, racking up sales of $250 million each year, according to the Future Farmers of America organization.

The plant takes its name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, a native of South Carolina who is credited with bringing the poinsettia to the United States while he was serving as the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Red poinsettias remain the most popular, but they come in more than 100 varieties, “including shades of white, cream, pink, purple, orange and yellow,” FFA noted. We source our poinsettias from Pennsylvania, but they are grown in all 50 states.

The colorful part of the plant is a modified leaf called a bract, which often is mistaken as the flower. You must look in the center of the bracts for the small yellow flowers, known as cyathium.

No matter the size or the color of your poinsettia, you’ll want to take these steps to make it last long.

  • Average room temperature is fine. Poinsettias can’t tolerate cold (including icy water) and can suffer from droopy leaves (a condition known as epinasty) if exposed to cold temperatures.
  • Epinasty also can result from a build-up of ethylene gas. Big-box retailers are notorious for leaving poinsettias in plastic sleeves, which trap ethylene and essentially ruin the plant.
  • Bright, ample light is best for the plant, mimicking conditions in Mexico.
  • Keep the plant moist but not sitting in water. Like people, poinsettias don’t like wet feet. The frequency and amount of water will vary depending upon the amount of sunlight, humidity and pot size to which the plant is exposed.
  • Poinsettias are sensitive plants, so you want to avoid banging them into things as they can bruise easily.

Not only are poinsettias a prominent part of Christmas, but they are the subject of their own holiday.

National Poinsettia Day, celebrated on Dec. 12, marks the anniversary of the day that Joel Roberts Poinsett died in 1851.

Ask the florist: common questions we get from customers

Posted on by Neal
This shows a florist reviewing notes while standing at a table adorned with roses, tulips and ribbon.
If you have a question about flowers, don’t hesitate to contact your local store.

Besides providing the freshest, most beautiful product we can, Royer’s Flowers & Gifts prides itself on delivering top-notch customer service before and after a sale.

We’re always happy to discuss a specific situation, but here are answers to some of the most common questions we receive from customers.

Q: I’ve heard of homemade flower foods, including mixing Sprite with aspirin or placing a penny in the bottom of a vase. Do these options work as well as your flower packets do in prolonging flower freshness?

A: No, our flower food is formulated with ingredients to help lower the pH levels, antimicrobials to help prevent stem rot, and sugar to provide energy for buds to open. Home remedies won’t achieve those ends.  

Q: Is this item appropriate for this occasion?

A: We answer this question with questions of our own. For instance, will a recipient be home enough or attentive enough to care for a plant, or would fresh flowers be a better option requiring less of a commitment?

Funerals prompt many special requests, such as adding pictures or personal items to a funeral arrangement. We help families decide the best way to honor their loved one.

Q: What is wrong with my plant?

A:  Most of the time there is an issue with either too much or not enough water. Other times the cause is with bugs or disease. We usually can figure it out with the help of a picture.

Q: Do you carry blue or black roses?

A:  Unfortunately, neither grows naturally. Right now, we offer a blue rose that has been died and dried. We don’t recommend using floral spray to achieve those colors because the spray can shorten the vase life of the rose. We typically suggest complementing the rose with babies breath that has been sprayed blue or black or adding an accent ribbon in the desired color.

Q: What do the flowers (especially roses) mean?

A: A red rose symbolizes love; a yellow rose is for happiness/friendship; a pink rose is for admiration; a white rose represents peace, sympathy and hope. (You’ll find more on flower meanings here.)

Of course, if you have a concern not addressed here, please don’t hesitate to contact your local store. We’re always here to help you. 

Prom prep: we’ll help with corsages, boutonnieres and hand-held bouquets for the spring formal

Posted on by Neal

Every spring, hundreds of thousands of high school students take college admission exams.

Many of the juniors and seniors also will partake of another rite of passage, one that’s a lot more fun than hours of testing: prom.

But will selecting prom flowers be:

  1. Stressful
  2. Confusing
  3. Costly
  4. None of the above

You can color in the oval next to D if you work with Royer’s Flowers & Gifts. We draw upon decades of helping high school students with prom prep. It’s quite possible that your parents or even your grandparents shopped for prom flowers with us when they were in school.

Whether you are attending prom with your significant other or with friends, flowers remain an integral part of the experience. We’re here to help you raise your flower-selection score. 

Prom primer

Prom is short for promenade, which describes a leisurely walk or a place for walking but also movements in ballet and ballroom dancing, according to USA Today.

Proms were modeled after debutante balls in high society, with the first ones traced to colleges and universities in the Northeast in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were formal events meant to teach etiquette and manners and featured waltzes and other formal dances.

By the 1930s, according to history.com, proms had reached high schools and began to look more like the events we know today. Amy Best, in her book, “Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture,” said they became “a democratized version of the debutante ball.” 

It gave anyone attending high school the sense that they, too, were making a formal entrance into society, “that they could transcend the boundaries of class,” Best wrote. “The message was that you did not have to be rich to wear a fancy frock, to be adorned with a corsage, or to waltz the night away.”

At Royer’s, we emphasize the specialness of prom and how flowers honor the people wearing them. We offer a wide selection of flowers, work with all budgets and are eager to discuss your specific needs.  

Meanwhile, here are some things to keep in mind:

Corsages and boutonnieres

These are the traditional prom favorites. Women typically wear a corsage, which is taken from the French “bouquet de corsage,” or flowers pinned to the upper part of the body. As spaghetti straps and strapless dresses become popular, the corsage moved to the wrist, to which it is tied.

Men often wear boutonnieres, also of French origin, meaning buttonhole. The boutonniere doesn’t go in the buttonhole but rather is pinned above it with the stem down.

Hand-held bouquets

Of late, the corsage’s popularity is being challenged by the hand-held bouquet, which has become a darling of TikTok. We’ve added more options to our lineup to capture what students are looking for. Something to consider is that while a hand-held bouquet can make a statement in photos, it may not be something a date wants to hold onto all night.

Complementary colors

Dresses come in an array of designer colors that aren’t always available in fresh-cut flowers. You can save yourself a lot of aggravation by picking complementary rather than aiming for an exact match.

Perhaps you don’t want the flowers to be as bold as the dress color. Consider tints or shades of the dress color: for instance, purple, lavender, magenta or orchid.

Contrasting colors

If you want a bold look, consider contrasting colors that also are complementary. These are opposites on the color wheel that provide a nice pop: for instance, red and green, yellow and purple, orange and blue. 

A nod to neutral

When in doubt, you can always stay neutral. The fact is that all-white continues to be our most popular corsage year after year, often accented with silver or gold to match jewelry instead of dress color.

Our staff is always available to assist with your prom needs. Of course, decisions about prom flowers come down to what you like and what your budget allows.

When you choose what’s appropriate for your prom experience, there are no wrong answers.

Valentine’s Day roses last longer when kept cool and watered

Posted on by Neal

The temperature spikes at Valentine’s Day, fueled by romantic fires and the flames of love.

But the roses you received to celebrate the holiday will last longest – a week or more – if you keep them away from heat sources, such as a vent or direct sunlight.

Before you go to bed, place the roses in an unheated room or garage (but not below 32 degrees as flowers can freeze), then put them back on display in the morning.

Water daily

It’s also important to give the roses plenty to drink. Even cut flowers get thirsty, so add water pretty much every day.

For roses in a vase:

  • If after five days or so the water is getting dirty, pull the roses out, re-cut the stems and put them back in the vase with fresh water.
  • Add a packet of floral preservative, available from your florist.If the water is relatively clean, leave it alone as it will have some preservative left in it.

For roses loose or in a box:

  • If the roses came with tubes on the stems, remove the tubes and re-cut the stems about 1 inch from the bottom. It is best to cut at an angle, which creates more surface area for water intake.
  • Place the roses in a vase with water that is room temperature to a little warm.
  • Add floral preservative to the water; you should have received a packet with the delivery.
  • Only change the water if it becomes noticeably dirty.

If roses don’t open

Within a day or two, your roses should begin to open. If not, remove them from the vase, re-cut the stems at an angle, and return them to the vase.

If they still do not open, re-cut the stems and float the flowers in a bath of water for an hour or two to rehydrate them. Then return them to the vase.

Most times, this will bring the roses around.

Just taking these steps, which require only minutes each day, you will have Valentine’s Day roses that look beautiful for a week or longer.

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.

Living with flowers results in ‘significant decrease’ in stress levels and improved moods: study

Posted on by Neal


Working, commuting, paying bills, and tending to family demands.
If there’s too much on your to-do list, you might want to scrap it altogether and start over with a single item: get flowers.

Research from the University of North Florida revealed that the presence of flowers can reduce stress, according to the Society of American Florists, of which Royer’s is a member.

“The findings show that people who lived with flowers in their homes for just a few days reported a significant decrease in their levels of stress and improvements in their moods.”

One-third of people are stressed every day; women are particularly affected, with one in four of them experiencing stress multiple times daily.

“Our findings are important from a public health perspective,” said lead researcher Erin Largo-Wight, associate professor in the university’s department of public health, “because adding flowers to reduce stress does not require tremendous effort to generate a meaningful effect.”

Helpful Tips

The Society of American Florists offered these tips for using flowers “to help relax and rewind”:

  • Experience flowers: Walk into your local florist and take a look around. Just the sight and smell of the natural beauty of flowers will put you at ease. Ask your florist to show you what’s in the cooler so you can learn about new varieties, colors and design styles.
  • Find peace: If you are having a bad day when it seems like nothing is going right, try flowers in soothing, tranquil colors, such as blues, lavenders and pale greens. Place a small arrangement on your nightstand or in your bathroom, so you can experience the stress-relieving benefits of flowers right before you go to bed, and right when you get up to start your day.
  • Help others: Sometimes the best way to relieve stress and the pressures of the day, is to do something nice for someone else. Here’s an idea: Go to your florist and buy two bouquets. Keep one for yourself, then take the other bouquet and “petal it forward” to a stranger on the street. You’ll be amazed at the reaction to your random act of kindness.
  • Give yourself some joy: One great way to reconnect with joy and feel less stressed is to surround yourself with simple things that make you feel happy and loved, like a colorful bunch of flowers or a blooming plant. Flowers have the power to open hearts, and when your heart is open you are more likely to focus on the positive points in your day.
  • Be a friend: Do you have a friend or loved one who could use a boost? Have flowers delivered unexpectedly to their door, and watch their ordinary day become extraordinary. It will make you smile, too.
  • Color your world: Color therapists say colors really do affect our moods. The happiest color? Orange. It promotes optimism, enthusiasm, and a sense of uplift. Choose orange flowers — roses, gerberas, lilies, ranunculus, alstroemeria, tulips — to put on your kitchen counter or your work desk, and see your mood soar.
  • Pepper your house with small doses of calm: When bringing home flowers from your florist, have a couple of small vases and containers available so you can place a few flowers in different parts of your living space. You’ll be amazed how many small arrangements you can get out of a single bunch of flowers, and you’ll have constant reminders to “stop and smell the flowers.”

The 2018 research from the University of North Florida builds on other university studies suggesting that flowers can help make people happy, strengthen feelings of compassion, foster creativity and boost energy.

AN ARTIST’S PALLET

Posted on by josh


When boxes of fresh flowers arrive at our distribution center in Lebanon, often they are stacked on wooden pallets. Needless to say, that’s a lot of wooden pallets over time.
As noted by Cheryl Brill, Royer’s vice president of retail operations, pallets became all the rage a few years ago. A quick Internet search reveals pallets that have been “upcycled” into everything from wine bars to bookshelves, pathways (when taken apart) to lights.
Royer’s had its own purpose.
“We originally became interested in the pallets as outdoor artwork as a way to provide color and interest outside in the drearier months,” Cheryl said.
In Ephrata, Cheryl installed pallets on a wall and attached shelves to them. In Shillington, we turned pallets into display pieces for plants and giftware, with two more decorated with sunflowers by resident artist Lori Emerich, assistant manager of our Lebanon store.
In the accompanying gallery, you’ll find numerous examples of our talented staff bringing new purpose and function to old wooden pallets.

A Guy’s Guide to Flower Buying

Posted on by Neal


There’s a gender gap when it comes to buying flowers: Women buy 65 percent of fresh flowers, according to the Society of American Florists, while men buy 35 percent.
To the extent that men might be intimidated or uncomfortable buying flowers, we’d like to make the experience a more enjoyable one for them.
To do this, we tapped the expertise of Cheryl Brill, Royer’s vice president of retail operations. Cheryl shared these insights based her more than 20 years of experience in the flower business.

Roses are red – and lots of other colors

Too often, men think only of roses for their significant others, and then only in red. Cheryl encourages male customers to be more adventurous, whether it’s with other colors of roses, other flower varieties, or other looks such as a textured garden appearance.

Don’t stop at Valentine’s Day

Maybe the tendency to focus on red roses has a lot to do with Valentine’s Day which, let’s face it, is ruled by red roses. But the year has only just begun when Valentine’s Day rolls around, so why not mix it up for the 364 days that don’t fall on Feb. 14?
What’s more, 63 percent of flower purchases are for the buyer, compared with 37 percent as gifts. And 86 percent of purchases are for non-calendar occasions, 50 percent of which fall into the “no special occasion” category. The bottom line is that people like to receive flowers any day of the year.

Bouquets don’t have to break the bank

Flower prices tend to rise around Valentine’s Day, in concert with a spike in demand for what is the floral industry’s equivalent of football’s Super Bowl. If that’s the only time of year that you purchase flowers, you can get a warped sense of how much they cost on a day-to-day basis.
Cheryl described how a $7.99 rose bunch made a positive impression on one male customer, who realized that he could afford to be a more frequent flower buyer.

Get the right vase

If she likes to arrange flowers, Cheryl said, then get her a vase that lends itself to arranging and one that fits the décor of the room where it will be used. Does she tend to put flowers on the kitchen counter or on the coffee table?

You don’t have to DIY

In this age of do-it-yourself, there’s a tendency to think that we must go it alone with everything. Rest assured, your trained florist is eager to help. It starts with the right container; she noted that it doesn’t have to be a plain, clear vase. Either bring one in, or your florist can help you select one.

Think about what you want to say

Before you visit or call your florist, Cheryl advised, think about the words you want to send along with the flowers. She said florists are a bit like bartenders: they’ve seen and heard everything, so don’t be embarrassed. Speak from the heart because the sentiment is just as important as the flowers that it goes with.
Valentine’s Day is an oasis amid the darkness of winter, Cheryl said, but it’s nice to see male customers the rest of the year, too.

To get the best value, buy from a local florist instead of a wire service

Posted on by Neal

DSC_0757
There are lots of statistics out there about the economic benefits of buying local. When you buy from locally owned stores, the money stays in your community and puts your neighbors to work.
It’s true whether you spend your money at a local restaurant, hardware store or florist.
Speaking of flowers, buying directly from a local florist rather than through a national wire service such as FTD (which last year bought ProFlowers) or Teleflora can put money back in your pocket, too.

That’s because the wire services are middlemen, adding another layer of charges that consumers pay for without realizing any added value in return. The wire services are marketing companies that hand orders over to local florists, who make the arrangements and deliver them to your home or office.

CNN Money, in a story timed to Valentine’s Day 2013, noted how FTD had advertised a glass vase with roses and mini-carnations for $44.99. However, to send that arrangement to Reno, Nev., FTD’s service charge bumped to price to $65.
By comparison, that same arrangement ordered directly from a Reno florist: $53.
“If all orders came in this way, our business would not be sustainable,” the florist said.
Of course, this begs the question of why they stick with the wire services if florists have trouble making money on incoming orders.
Greg Royer, president and CEO of Royer’s, said that FTD and Teleflora are generally well regarded; they have been in business since 1910 and 1934, respectively.
“We also want to be able to send orders to other florists, so accepting orders via the wire services is only fair play,” he said.
However, he noted that from a consumer perspective, it’s a better deal to work with a local florist. You’ll be dealing with the same people who are going to arrange and deliver your flowers.
And you’ll avoid the added fees associated with the wire services.