Banksia Victoriae

We're feeling inspired this summer with a fresh take on a favorite orange Banksia: Victoriae or also called Woolly Orange. Lovely ‘acorn’ shaped blooms when they’re fully developed, Victoriae starts as an intriguing woolly, greyish-white bud and becomes a brilliant orange as the styles open out. These styles form an inflorescence that’s made up of hundreds of tiny flowers that open from the base, giving them a fluffy appearance.

Victoriae blooms range in size from 6 to 10" in length and 5" in diameter, and have fabulous serrated foliage on long ridged stems. The main flowering season is mid to late summer. They have an extremely long vase life and dry beautifully.

What to look for:

• Inflorescences with the bottom 1/3 of flowers open and fluffy.
• Clear color - Grey flowers are old.
• Avoid wet flowers.

Flower Care:

1. Keep cool when possible
2. Strip leaves from the bottom half of each stem
3. Re-cut at least 1/2" off each stem and place in cold water.
4. Never bash or split stems.
5. Replace vase water every day as Banksia are thirsty flowers.
6. Never mist banksias as this could cause black marks to appear.

Farm Tour: Cal Poly Rose Parade Float Team

The 129th Rose Parade is over four months away and the Cal Poly Float Team is out touring farms and meeting the farmers “Making a Difference” – the 2018 parade’s theme. A theme chosen to honor and celebrate all of the people in our communities, who quietly and without desire for reward or recognition, act in selfless, generous and kind ways to aid or benefit others.

This year Cal Poly is once again committed to source at least 85 percent of their float décor from California flower farms and be recognized as "California-Grown Certified". During the last few years this project and the 'Learning by Doing' has expand beyond the campuses. Students and administrators tour farms that donate the fresh cut flowers and greens in order to see where and how they are grown.

Float construction work has already begun on both campuses. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students are expected to move their half of the float to Cal Poly Pomona in mid-to-late October. Construction typically continues until right before Christmas. Students and volunteers then spend the week between Christmas and New Year decorating the float with flowers and foliage.

A big ‘Thank You’ to this year’s Cal Poly Float Team for visiting us this week. We enjoyed getting to know these enthusiastic designers and sharing a little of our 'Flower World' with them. Looking forward to seeing another beautiful "California-Grown Certified" float on New Year’s Day!

Back to the Floral Future

This summer the California State Floral Association took fair goers back in time at the California State Fair in Sacramento! Sharing the stories about the California flower industry, its history, and how flowers go from the farm, to the wholesaler, to the florist and finally to the consumer.

All fair long protea were seen at the CSFA booth, used in competitions, and of course decorating the entire State Fair. However, Resendiz Brothers was the featured farm for the fair’s finale weekend. We were there sharing our flowers, our history, and information on where we are today!

Many thanks to our friends at the California State Floral Association and Flora Fresh Inc. for being such amazing hosts during our visit and to designer, Terri Berbena, for the beautiful booth display.

Grevillea Ivanhoe

It’s no secret that we love lush, green foliage here at Resendiz Brothers. Our year-round favorite? Ivanhoe… bursting with color, texture and volume. This extremely popular species of the Australian genus of Grevillea is a hybrid cultivar derived from a combination of G. Longifolia and G. Caleyi. It has beautiful serrated and deeply cut foliage with deep green leaves and silver undersides, while new growth is a bronze color.

If you’re looking for something tall and showy, Ivanhoe is perfect… stems can be harvested from five to six feet tall and displayed in huge, elaborate arrangements. Need filler? Well then, take Ivanhoe’s long branchy stems and separate them into 15" to 18" stems to fill up your favorite vase or container.

Flowering Gums

This summer, we're embracing familiar yet often overlooked blooms in the field: flowering Gums. The lush evergreen leaves of the Corymbia ficifolia or Gum Tree are harvested year-round and have become a popular foliage for garlands and wreaths. However, did you know that many varieties of gum produce a profusion of bright flower clusters during the summer? These flowers are not typical flowers though, as these showy blooms are made up mostly of anthers and styles, rather than petals. And in most species, the buds appear in masses on a single stem that develops on the axil of the leaves. These nectar-rich flowers can be found in hues of white, yellow, cream, red, pink, salmon, orange or even bi-colors and the stamens are held in small cup-like bases.

Flowering Gum Bouquet

Apricot Delight

Summer Snow

Calypso Queen

Summer Glory

Fairy Floss

Little Sweetie

Summer Beauty

Bush Lollies

When it comes to holidays, July 20 has a little something for everyone! Not only is it Mel’s Birthday, Ugly Truck Day and National Fortune Cookie Day, it's also National Lollipop Day!

Ah, lollipops… the kid-time favorite is reminiscent of Disneyland where large twister lollipops are a popular treat. What? Not your idea of a ‘healthy’ treat? Swearing off the fake sugars and dyes? Watching calories?

Well then, delight your eyes (eye-candy) and arouse your fingers with these texture-packed pops. A beautiful bunch of Blush Lollies or grevillea flowers as we call them, may be one of the healthiest treats you can get. These gorgeous lollipop-like blooms are perfect if you’re looking for something a little unusual and screaming with color.

Delightful and ever so sweet, these gorgeous flowers have been satisfying the senses for generations, possibly even for centuries. Did you know that Grevillea flowers were a traditional favorite among Aborigines for their sweet nectar? The pollen could be shaken onto the hand to enjoy or mixed with a little water to make a sweet drink. And, these awesome blossoms are also extremely popular among the birds, bees and butterflies.

Happy Lollipop Day and of course, Happy Birthday Mel!