Tropical flowers in winter — isn’t that asking for trouble? In this guest blog, Claudia from Magic Flowers shares practical tips on hydration, temperature and storage. With the right treatment, you can use and present exotics all year round. It’s no coincidence that Magic Flowers, together with FleuraMetz, is sponsor of the Aloha Show at IPM Essen. Prefer to wait until spring? From the start of IPM, you can exclusively pre-order all products from the Aloha Show at FleuraMetz.

Where would we be without Hypericum? Dependable and available all year round in an ever-expanding range of colours, this workroom staple ties in seamlessly with every season. Fruiting naturally in the autumn, Hypericum is a deciduous shrub that is covered with simple, bright yellow flowers in summer. Commonly known as St. John’s Wort, Tutsan, or in the States, Coffee Bean; Hypericum is found worldwide, and there are nearly 500 species within the genus.  Hypericum Colour Range

We are so used to having Iris in our shops all year round it’s easy to forget that it is in fact a spring flower, blooming naturally between February and March. Tall and reliable, it has become something of a workroom staple, despite its relatively short vase life.  When and how to buy Iris  Iris is sold in batches of 50 stems with an average stem length of 60 cm.  Tightly budded Iris need time to open, so it’s always a good idea to buy in advance and keep some in stock, part

The Year of the Fire Horse. In China, the horse is a symbol of strength, swiftness, freedom and perseverance. Further adding to its potency, the Fire Horse combines the element of fire with the powerfulness of the horse, signifying a year of passion, activity and progress.    How can florists celebrate the Chinese New Year?  Although it might seem too much to expect to put on a special promotion for Chinese New Year, coming as it does hot on the heels of Valentine’s Day, th

New beginnings, rebirth and hope are just some of the qualities attributed to the delicate and modest Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, also known as ‘Fair Maids of February’. A winter perennial, it is one of the first welcome signs of spring in gardens and woodlands, easy to spot with its dark green glossy leaves and nodding, white bell-shaped flowers.   Buying Galanthus  For the cut flower market, most commercially grown Galanthus are from The Netherlands, where they can be bo

Feel free to share this image with your customers, you can download a copy to print out.

The nation’s love of houseplants shows no sign of abating, with magazines and social media full of new varieties and new ideas on what to buy and how to display. No home is now considered complete without a plant or two or perhaps many more than that… so what are the new trends for 2026 and how can florists embrace and adapt them for sale?  Living Wall Art  ‘Houseplant styling’ are the buzz words for indoor gardening in 2026, focussing on decorative accents rather than huge c

Su Whale explores these surprisingly exotic-looking meadow flowers.

Su celebrated the vibrant colours of cornus stems and its usefulness in design work at this time of year.

How better to encourage your customers to start a new houseplant obsession than with some easy care green indoor plants that are also believed to bring good luck and fortune?  Jade plant Crassula ovata   A bushy evergreen with fleshy, succulent leaves, often tinted with red, Crassula is slow growing and possibly one of the easiest plants to look after and propagate. Cared for correctly, it has the extra bonus of flowers in the summer, producing clusters of pretty, starry whit

As we come out of Winter and nature merges us into Spring, we as florists sense the change – in hedgerows, in gardens, in parks and anywhere where plants, trees and plant material are growing. Early Spring flowers emerge, delicate, symbolic, and full of promise. These blooms carry emotional weight far beyond their petals. For florists, they are more than seasonal offerings; they are storytellers, mood-setters, and the first messengers of renewal each year. Understanding their

A firecracker of a flower!  Pronounced ‘Loo-co-SPUR-mum’ the pincushion protea grows in a range of rich colours from tawny orange to red, a perfect palette for autumnal designs. Also know as Pincushion Protea, Nodding Pincushion, Sunburst Protea, Leucospermum is a member of the ancient Protea family. It is indigenous to South Africa where it provides essential food for birds and insects; it has a tactile, spiky flower head and pale green leathery leaves which grown in a spira

Never out of the top 10 of the world’s favourite flowers, the tulip is an iconic spring flowering bulb.

This week Su celebrates the arrival of Cornish-grown Narcissi; another welcome sign that spring is on the way.

Expand your Valentine’s gift range to include Gerbera