baby's breath
5 messages in this thread
Does anyone know anything about Baby's Breath flowers? These are small
white flowers used as ornamentals in floral arrangements. Also, does anyone
know about raising leather lead ferns?
Thanks for the help!
Douglas: I have grown Baby's Breath a number of times. Here in Ontario it
is treated as an annual. If you're interested in using it for floral
arrangements or as a part of a dried flower arrangement there is no
problem. If you want it as an annual bedding plant however I have found
that it blooms once and then runs out of steam. I start all of my annuals
from seed indoors and get them outdoors when the weather is safe. With
Baby's Breath it has been my experience that by August all bloom has
fizzled out. I've had similar experience with starting Asters early
indooors. You get early bloom but igts all gone long before frost. I hope
this is of some assistance. Henry
Dear Mr. Pollit: Thank you for the info on baby's breath. We live in a
warm, moist climate (Hilo, Hawaii). The temperature varies with the
elevation and we can experince a range from 50 degrees (F) to 85 degrees
(F). A florist we know has trouble finding baby's breath and we were
wondering how easy it would be to grow commercially. Do you have any
recommendation as to a source of seeds and can you reocmmend any literature
on growing this plant. Because of our climate, this annual will probably
survive beyond growing season but will soon go to seed and need to be
replanted etc. due to the natural cycles in the plant. Thanks for your
help. Aloha, Doug Halsted
Hi Douglas,
Baby's Breath comes in both annual and perennial versions, both of which
originate in temperate climates with cold winter seasons. The botanical
genus name is "gypsophila", from "gypsum" (lime), and implies a penchant
for sweet (alkaline), as opposed to acid, soil.
I've grown both annual and perennial forms. I love the old fashioned
single-flowered perennial. This form grows into a big clump, three feet
high, with thousands and thousands of very tiny white flowers. It has a
very distinctive sweet-sour scent, very much like, you guessed it, a baby's
milky breath. Botanically this is Gypsophila paniculata. It is very
hardy, and is a ditch-clogging weed in parts of the Canadian prairies. I
doubt that it would grow without a winter dormant period.
There are also double and pink flowered perennial forms.
The kinds of baby's breath sold in florist shops is usually from annual
hybrids. These sorts come in a bunch of varieties, as singles, doubles,
and in both white and pink. I've always found them odorless. You could
probably grow them very well in your climate, so long as the soil wasn't
too acid.
Most commercial seed catalogues will contain seed for both perennial and
annual varieties. I am looking, right now, at a catalogue from Stokes
Seeds, which has a U.S. operation at Box 548, Buffalo, NY, 14240. It lists
two white and one pink annual, and one of each in the perennial section.
Stokes catalogues contain excellent cultural material. They sell to both
commercial and home users. Good luck
Ron
Douglas, regarding your leather leaf fern question: I've grown a few, but
do not have any now. It's sold here in Calilfornia as Aspidium capense, but
it is really Rumohra adiantiformis. I saw some at the nursery, yesterday,
and got tempted, but resisted.
Are you growing them? Although they do best in partial shade, they can
take full sun. For me (southern calif.), that fits the ticket.
Let me know what specifics you are looking for, maybe I or someone on the
Forum can help.
Aloha
Howard