Strange request but I'm looking for a bunch of fresh lilac flowers. It has been many years since I have seen or smelled the real thing and even though they won't last long, I would love to trade for a box of blooms . My trade list in at the bottom of my member page. I enjoy gardening year round and would never move back to the cold but there are a few things I do miss for my younger days and one of them is the lilac blooms (along with lily of the valley, dahlias, peonies). A big thank you to anyone who can give me a bit of old memories.
Jan...
Wanted: Lilac flowers - not the plant or seeds
That is so funny you posted this....I was planning to ship you some, but was told by my florist friend that there was no real way to get them from here to there and still retain the scent of the bloom. :-(
Seems it fades fast if the branches are not in cool water....a shipping box just wouldn't cut it.
Maybe someone closer can do that for you.......I will think of you this evening while out on my deck cutting a few bunches for the dinner table.
Marc
Marc,
You a such a tease. Perhaps if they're cut just as they start to open and ship priority mail. I do know the florists are able to get them here (way too expensive) so there must be a way.
Jan...
This message was edited Apr 19, 2005 9:06 PM
Marc and budgielover, As a florist there is a way to ship the blooms.
Get a block of floral foam (oasis). soak it, drain, using blooms that are still in bud, insert into the foam wrap tightly package all in a large plastic bag and send priority mail.
OR you can fill ballons with water and put on each stem with a rubberband , package in plastic and sent priority mail.
I'm im Michigan and when I lived in California, I missed lilac so much my mother send mine from Michigan to Calif this way
It Works
Ann
Marc, are you listening
Thanks a bunch Ann.
Jan...
I am indeed.....I'll go right out and see if any are still in bud and not fully opened.
I'll get right back to you :-)
Marc
The balloon idea is wonderful! I would never have thought of that one. Thanks.
Our lilacs aren't even leafed out all the way yet, but we will have blooms in late May. We can usually plan on lilac blooms around graduation time. If you don't get any by then, I'd be willing to try sending some in water balloons.
I totally understand your request. It's not strange at all. It's so nice to get a chance to smell something or taste something that reminds us of another time.
I am the one that requested someone send me some Dolgo crabapples so I could get the bellyache I remember from walking to school eating these apples all the way. The Dolgo crabs grew on a neighbors tree, and every fall on the way to school we picked a bunch and ate them all the way to school. They are SO good, but on an empty stomach? Yep, a bellyache, but one that I was willing to endure day after day, and now 30+ years later, I'm looking for that bellyache again. LOL Sweet memories.
Let me know if you want me to send you some lilac blooms in late May.
This message was edited Apr 19, 2005 8:18 PM
I have some blooms that are just newly opened.....I have some floral foam soaking now. I have no access to a post office tomorrow but will send UPS if you like.
I'm sorry you thought me a tease....I really did write myself a note over a month ago to remind myself to try and send you some after your posting regarding wanting a bush hardy for your area.
Thanks for the tips Ann! I can't wait to see if this works. :-)
Marc
me, neither!
if i does, i may have to do some bribing myself!
Okay, so checked with UPS and WOW!!! they are expensive $34.97....not happening through them. :-)
My honey has agreed to take the package to the post office at lunch and send it priority mail.
Marc
This is just the greatest thread I've read in a long time. THIS is what gardening is all about in my book. I hope that if there is ever a day that I'm not able to see and smell the lilac blooms in the Spring that I'll have someone willing to share them with me. It is, to me, one of the most memory-filled smells.
Enjoy your blooms, Budgie!
(Joan - I loved your story!)
Jan, times like now, when spring is teasing me about being here, I really miss the smell of lilacs. I have them in my yard, but the leaves are barely budding out, much less the blooms. I did find Glade makes a candle with a lilac scent that is very very close to real It gets me through the winter.
You'd have had a good laugh last week watching me wading through 2 ft of snowfall plus drifts to get to the lilac bushes to shake them loose so they could survive and not break. Not much gets me out in the snow, but that did.
I work as a florist and get to do the flower ordering(hehehe) and have been getting cut lilac here in KY from CA. They're Fedexed overnight and are'nt in water. I cut the stems under water and let them hydrate in flower food solution and they perk right up and smell wonderful. My lilac bush is still too young to flower, so it's so nice to relive that childhood memory of burying my face in lilac blossoms.
I spent my first 16 years in the Chicago area and have only been back once (July naturally). I've been here in Florida since 1971 and am the type of person who needs to have sunshine all year round.
The thought of spring time was the only thing that got me though the grey dismal days of winter.
I love being able to go out and pick fresh flowers all year round to take to work with me. Last week, I took in roses, baby breath and bachelor buttons. This week it was a bouquet of mixed sunflowers.
My cannas and daylilies are already blooming. My periennials are budding and some never go dormant. Now, on the other hand, the weather forecasters are predicting a hurricane season much like last year so even though my area was thankfully spared, I am starting to stock up on supplies now while they are still plenty. At least once hurricane season is over, you don't have to buy canned goods for awhile
Jan...
Budgie, if you don't get your fill of Lilac blossoms and smell from Riker Bear, I will be happy to send you some later.
Mine are just now starting to show buds, so quite a while before I see blossoms.
Please let me know.
Thanks, Maxine
i missed this somewhere but why dont you have a lilac bush?? are they sold there or something?? i know they grow here is SC and Ga so i dont know why they wouldnt in FL. just curious
Budgie,
I also miss the fragrance of lilacs blooming in the spring. When I was a teen driving around our town or in the outlying farm communities, if I saw lilacs in bloom, I would stop and pick some to take home.
However, last month I discovered wisteria. I decided this was the souths answer to lilacs. They bloom purple on a cluster and smell wonderful......and they grow in Florida. My SIL dug me a plant and I have it in a pot now, still trying to recover from the transplant. Maybe you have seen and smelled them?
Molly
:^)))
Florida does not get cold enough to give the dormancy period they need.
Molly,
I have been meaning to get some wisteria anyway. Just haven't gotten round to it yet.
Jan...
any news on the lilacs? i am dying to know if they made it.
Me too ~ did they make it? Lilacs were what I missed when I was living in TX, so I understand. ~ Suzi :)
They're in route. I'll let everyone know when they arrive. I'm going to stop by my Mom's with them and surprise her too.
Jan...
Oh lord I hope them make it okay :-(
So much preasure................
Please be kind to me if they for some reason don;t. Next year I'll know to send them before they fully open up.
Marc
Not to worry Marc.
If they make it I will be in seventh heaven for a few days. If not, I'll have to survive on Brugs and Plumerias awhile longer. I know, I know. It will be pure suffering but somehow I'll make it through while gazing upon the wilted, lifeless box of lilacs and let my imagination feel and smell what might have been. Alas, a flower by any other name shall never smell as sweet.
Jan...
Well the box should arrive tomorrow, so please let me / us all know. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Marc
Can we see a picture when they get there, of how they are packed and blooms?
Michelle
The stems are in asmall bag of water......that was than placed inside another larger bag. The whole thing was than put in side a plastic bucket with insulation and ice (now long melted)......the bucket was sealed and taped closed.
Placed in a shipping box, and packed with more insulation.
I hope it was good enough....we'll see I guess. :-(
Marc
Wow Marc! You may need to start giving lessons to mail order companies on how to pack plant material. LOL
whoa! i am dying to hear the outcome of all that hard work!
Looks like I better charge the battery on the old digital camera
There are little water tubes that some florists used to ship roses in that I sent some cuttings to someone in but unfortunately he never responded to their condition when they arrived.
Jan...
I think this is such a neat and sweet post. :) One of my lilacs just bloomed this year for the first time. I can certainly understand why you would love that scent and why you would miss it. Mine had never bloomed and and English friend from here at DG told me I should put some lime on them. So the next time I was out, I picked up a bag of lime. When I got home, I went straight through the house and out onto the deck. I was bound and determined to get mine to bloom. I set the bag of lime down on the table to open it and looked up. Would you believe that stupide bush had buds?? LOL I called the friend back and told her apparently you don't have to use the lime, you just have to buy it! :) I hope you enjoy your blooms budgie.
LOL Badseed. Think that will work on other plants as well?
Badseed - how old is the lilac that did that? Mine is 2-3 yrs. Heard a vicious rumor (hope not truth since I am dying for mine to show up...) that it takes 7 yrs to bloom. I should look it up but don't have the heart to hear 7 years...
Jan - Hope you get the lilacs TODAY and they are in great shape!! ~ Suzi :)
I won't swear to anything but I think this is the Lilac I got from the National Arbor Day Society. It was a bare root little stick when it arrived. I want to say I have had it about 4 years. I have another small one I received in a trade about a year after that and it is still only about 2.5 feet tall and is showing no signs of blooming. The length of time not blooming could be where they are planted or that I have never pruned them. I think I planted too much too quickly and didn't research everything flawlessly. LOL I was recently told it takes them about 3 years to bloom. Maybe you all should just go spend $3 on lime. LOL
I have a lilac it is called president something? Anyone know? My MIL gave it to me two years ago and she said it was french and not wild. Anyway it has it's first bloom on it and I can't wait. I spent time digging some of the same babies out last week at her house and they all look nice. They would be perfect for shipping this year. They would probably not bloom for two-three years. I cannot imagine that it would be longer than three years, mine grew pretty fast.
So if anyone is interested in a baby let me know. I probably will have a few extras. If they make it. I am finally getting a digital camera for my birthday so I can show everyone what it looks like. I am close to my finals week with school so no fun/pictures until after I am finished.
never prune a lilac or you wont have blooms next season. lilacs need at least 6 hours of sun. if in really hot areas morning sun is best then partial shade in the afternoon. lilacs have shallow roots. liac blooms come on the prevouis years growth. lilacs bloom on second years growth. slightly acid soil.
i have had to move my liacs around to get them to bloom. because of the sun thing.
budgielover !!!! to get your attention
the "Descanso hybrids' are the ones that dont need to be chilled a long time to bloom. they are for our short winters. i callled a friend who works at a botanical garden to get the name.
Lavender Lady," "California Rose," and "Mrs. Forrest K. Smith" are popular Descanso hybrids these require very little cold to bloom next season.
so maybe you can try one for yourself.
potofgold - do any of these sound familiar.....?
http://davesgarden.com/pf/search.php?sourceid=Firefox-search&search_text=lilac+president
Ummmm, that's not exactly true imzadi. The best and only time to prune lilac is right after they bloom. Pruning off the spent blooms seems to cause the bush to produce even better the next year becouse it was not allowed to set seed.....the bloom buds are set on the growth that occures right before going dormant.
My bushes are loaded every single year due to my timely pruning.
http://magazines.ivillage.com/countryliving/garden/expert/qas/0,,549756_604486,00.html
Hi Marc & everyone,
My son just got off the computer so I wanted to let everyone know they were waiting for me when I got home from work today. I can't believe you went to all that work Marc. I don't know how to thank you for my trip down memory lane! Please thank your wife also. I think they did pretty well but some of the flowers fell off when picked up. Not a problem because I will dry them and make poupourri (sp?) They do still smell heavenly and I could smell them as soon as I tood the lid off. Probably the only change I would make in shipping is to treat them like cuttings and only subject the cut tips to water while keeping the rest of the bloom dry in tissue or newspaper. Maybe we can all try experimenting with different methods to different locations and see which works out best. Not that I would want any more (he he)! I will be posting pictures later but for now, I'm going to take my vase of lilacs, my glass of wine, my CD player and go chill out in the garden.
Jan...
YEAH!!!!! I'm so happy for you Jan. Marc, ya done good.
Oh Yeah!!!!! I am glad they arrived in good enough shape for you to enjoy them. Take a big whif and think of me :-)
Marc