Author: Jerry Rosalia

With over 60 years of floral industry experience, Jerry Rosalia was born with a green thumb. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Jerry is a third generation florist, and has been with 1-800-Flowers.com for 31 years. With a smile on his face, Jerry lends his floral expertise to florists around the country through Bloomnet, 1800Flowers' floral wire network, in addition to writing for Petal Talk. In his spare time Jerry enjoys spending time with his family, being an Usher at his church, as well as eating out, bowling, gardening, and watching sports.

How to Make a DIY Christmas Centerpiece

christmas centerpiece ideas with christmas centerpiece floral craft

When Christmastime comes around, it’s easy to get into the holiday spirit. From Christmas decorations to the gleeful melodies of Christmas music and carols to the festive holiday foods, there’s so much to love about the season.

And to make your Christmas even more special, we’ve created an easy-to-follow guide to making your very own floral DIY Christmas centerpiece in just a few easy steps. Your handmade Christmas centerpiece will not only impress guests but will look amazing next to Christmas dinner!

Before you start, we should point out that you can make the centerpiece without the flowers first to make it last longer. Then, when Christmas nears, add the flowers a day or two before to have your floral centerpiece extra fresh for the holiday!

Materials for DIY Christmas centerpiece

Floral tray (We used a round floral tray, but you can use anything that mimics that shape…even a round soup bowl!)
Floral foam
Water
Tapered candle (We used a 15-inch red candle.)
Knife or clippers
Floral wires
Floral sticks
Millimeter balls clusters
Pine cones
Holiday greens (We used cedar, variegated holly, balsam, white pine, and sugar pine. You may be able to find some of these on nearby trees.)
Flowers (We used white cushion pom poms and red mini carnations.)

Instructions for DIY Christmas centerpiece

Cut the floral foam to fit the shape of your tray.
Set the cut piece of foam in water for about five minutes, until it is completely saturated. If your floral foam has holes, which is actually preferred, place the foam in the water holes side down. The trick is to let the foam sink to the bottom, to allow it to absorb the most water possible.

Christmas centerpiece ideas with floral foam in water

Place the soaked foam snugly into your floral tray.
Add the candle to the center of the foam. You can use a candleholder or not.

Christmas centerpiece ideas with adding greens to foam

Now, add your greens to the floral foam. A helpful tip: Look at the centerpiece as an extension of the table. Start low so the greens just about hit the table, and then work your way up to build the arrangement. With how long the needles of the white pine (aka sugar pine) are, we thought this was a good green to start with. After filling the base with sugar pine, we added the rest of the greens: balsam, cedar, and then variegated holly.

Christmas centerpiece ideas with adding pine cones and millimeter balls

Next, add the pine cones and millimeter balls. So these elements can stand out in the arrangement, place them on sticks, securing them with wire. Do this by wrapping the wire around the pine cone and then wrapping the same wire around a stick, until the pine cone is secure. Then, do the same with the millimeter balls. (In all, we created six pine cones and six millimeter ball clusters on sticks.) Add the pine cones and millimeter balls on sticks to the arrangement, making sure you spread them out to achieve a good balance.

Christmas centerpiece ideas with placing flowers

Now it’s time to add the flowers. Do this in whatever order you prefer. We started with the white cushion pom poms and then added red mini carnations, making sure to create a nice balance of red and white alongside the greens for an extra festive look.
Inspect your centerpiece for any “bald” spots or areas that are lacking. Add your leftover greens, flowers, or decorations as you see fit to fill these empty spaces and create the fullest centerpiece possible.
Once you’re happy with your Christmas centerpiece, place it on the table and admire it!

Very Merry Modern Christmas Centerpiece

Here’s another Christmas centerpiece idea. It’s called the Very Merry Modern Christmas Centerpiece, and it uses noble fir, cedar, and white pine for greenery; green hydrangea, and red and white spray roses for flowers; and pine cones, hypericum, and ornaments for accents. The materials are pretty much the same as above, only instead of a long tapered candle, it features a glass cube vase in the middle with a tea light candle or flameless candle inside.

Watch the video below to learn how to make this Christmas centerpiece that will wow your guests!

Father’s Day Crafts: How to Make a DIY Planter for Dad

A photo of father’s day crafts with a DIY Father's Day Planter

It’s always nice to buy dad something for Father’s Day, but making him something you know he’ll love is an extra special touch. If you’re looking for a Father’s Day craft that fits dad’s personality, why not try this unique planter? All you need are just a few plants, soil, and a container!

Materials needed for DIY Father’s Day planter

Ceramic container (I used a golf ball planter, but feel free to be creative!)
Soil
3-4 plants of different height, preferably a type with vines, such as philodendron.
- Plants we used include:
  - Tricolor marginata
  - Philodendron
  - Mini palm
  - Spanish moss

How to make a DIY Father’s Day planter

Take your container and fill it one-tenth of the way full with potting soil. (The amount will depend on the depth of the container.)
Place your plants, one at a time, in the container. Use the plant with vines first to one side, the tallest to the back or center of the planter, and the shorter plant to the opposite side.
Add soil, compacting as you go. Compact or compress the soil around the individual plants to get rid of air pockets.
Lightly water the plant.
Add your Spanish moss as a finishing touch to the completed planter.
Give this fun Father’s Day craft to dad and watch him smile with joy!

Note: Plants are easier to work with when the soil is dry. Therefore, if you’re able to, get them a couple of days in advance. If you are not sure how to take care of it, refer to our plant care section.

Hope you and your dad have an amazing Father’s Day!

How to Keep Flowers Alive Longer

The care and handling of fresh flowers depends on how they are to be displayed. The three most common ways to display are: simple cut flowers, cut flowers in a vase, and an arrangement of cut flowers in floral foam.

Here are tips on how to keep flowers alive longer, based on how you choose to display them.

How to care for fresh cut flowers

how to keep flowers alive with cutting flower stems

Let’s start with cut flowers just purchased. Keep them out of extreme temperatures when bringing them home. Hopefully, the flowers you bought were properly processed along the way from the farm to you. If you’re going to display your flowers in a vase, use a vase that has been cleaned with soap and water, then rinsed with bleach. Re-cut all the flowers to your preferred length, removing any foliage that would be below the water line. Cutting at an angle or under running water is a matter of preference; there’s no proof that these methods make any difference.

How to care for fresh cut flowers in a vase

how to keep flowers alive with flowers in vase against brick background

Bath temperature water works best for your vase. Warm water is lighter and easier for flowers to absorb, while cold water is slower for flowers to drink. Commercial cut floral food is best, especially when used as directed. Too little will do nothing, and too much can shorten the life of the flower. The three properties of preservatives are glucose (sugar), an anti-bacterial (bleach), and pH-lowering agent (lemon juice, lime juice, or vinegar).

This means that if you don’t have a floral-quality preservative, you can use (1) a capful of bleach, (2) lemon or lime non-diet soda, plus (3) a tablespoon of sugar. (I don’t believe aspirin or copper pennies do anything!) Keep the vase you need out of direct sun and, if possible, in a cool place.

Your cut flowers should be re-cut on their second or third day. Remove the flowers carefully so as not to change the design. A large rubber band or tie can keep them together until you re-cut the stems; remove any flowers that have passed their prime. Clean the vase and refill with warm water two-thirds full, plus more preservative. Remove the tie and replace the flowers in the vase.

How to keep flowers alive in floral foam

how to keep flowers alive with flowers in foam

A pre-designed arrangement in floral foam gives you little to do. You can’t re-cut the stems, but you must add water. It’s best to add water in the kitchen on a drain board, causing no furniture damage if it spills. If that’s not possible, add a few ice cubes to the back, directly on the foam. It’s hard to know if the foam has enough water, but you can always tip the container; if water drips out, it’s well saturated. If flowers growing in the garden are cut for in-home use, they should be cut early in the day as possible before they are stressed from the heat of the sun.

Rose Garden Care & Tips

From tulips to chrysanthemums, our series “The Language of Flowers” explores everything from fresh flower care tips to flower symbolism and meaning. Learn from floral expert Jerry Rosalia about how to care for your rose garden, including when and how to prune, plant, and fertilize roses.

Garden roses come in several different categories — including miniature, climbing, and hybrid — and each category contains many types of roses. But regardless of the variety of garden rose you’re growing, the maintenance of these flowers is more or less the same.

Read on to learn my tips on rose garden care, including where and when to plant your roses, and how to care for them once they’re in the ground.

When and how to prune roses

a photo of rose garden care: pruning a rose bush

In the Northeast, the best time to prune is in the spring, when forsythias are in bloom, and again in the fall, four to six weeks before the first hard frost. Pruning in the early spring is done to remove any damage that occurred during the winter months, as well as to remove any old flowers. Always prune dead wood back to healthy tissue by removing dead, damaged, or diseased branches. Healthy branches will be white or light green in the center. Any discoloration, spots, or mildew on branches should be cut out. Removing spent or withered flowers encourages more future blooms; this is called “deadheading.”

Where to plant roses

Roses should be planted in an area in your garden that receives a minimum of five to six hours of full sun. Don’t overcrowd the plants and don’t plant rose bushes too close to walkways — you want to give them plenty of room to grow. Leave enough space so they will not be affected by winter snow removal or the “ice melt” on your walkway, which can hurt or damage your plants.

Nourish your roses

Prepare the soil

Add the amount of organic material suggested on the product you have purchased. You can buy compost from your local garden store or make your own from grass and leaf clippings around your yard. Some gardeners recommend adding a four-inch square of gypsum (wallboard) and a 16 penny nail at the bottom of the planting hole to provide calcium and iron. Do this whether your rose bush comes already planted or dry pack, where the rose stems have been coated in wax. Once established, roses should be fed on a regular basis throughout the blooming cycle.

a photo of rose garden care: roses growing in a garden

Fertilize your rose garden

Usually starting in April (and each month thereafter), apply about 1 cup of balanced rose fertilizer (5-10-5) to each bush and sprinkle around the plant but not against the plant itself. (For those unfamiliar, balanced rose fertilizer simply means a blend of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium with the ratio 5-10-5.) In May and June, add a tablespoon of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) to the fertilizer; this will encourage new growth from the bottom of your bush. If you spot pests or disease, such as black spot, powder dew, and cankers, on your bushes, consult a county extension service or local garden center.

Prepare for winter

In late fall, stop feeding six weeks before the first anticipated frost but continue watering during the dry autumn weather. After the first few frosts, mound mulch or compost around the plants. In the spring, start the process all over with your rose pruning and fertilizing!

DIY Easter Flowers: How to Make an Easter Floral Arrangement

Wondering how you can welcome Easter with unique Easter decorations? These fun DIY Easter flowers will make your Easter celebration a true original!

Materials needed for DIY Easter flowers

DIY Easter Floral Arrangement and Decorations

Egg carton (Colorful plastic or styrofoam is preferable)
6 plastic eggs
Easter flowers. We recommend:
-2 stems of pink miniature carnations
-2 stems of lavender daisy pompoms
-A bushy piece of heather
Floral greens
Floral foam cut to the size of 6 holes of the egg carton

How to make your DIY Easter flowers

Cut your floral foam to a little less than the size of six egg holes (half of the egg carton).
Nest your floral foam into half of the egg carton.
Lightly cover the floral foam with greens.
Start adding your florals (carnations or daisy pompoms) to the cut floral foam. The design should be a triangle within a triangle.
Finish off with the heather, small buds of the flowers, and floral greens for dimension to make the arrangement fuller.
Place the six plastic eggs in the remaining six holes of the egg carton for the finishing Easter touch!

Winter Plant Care Tips from Expert Jerry Rosalia

Caring for plants year round is important to ensure they live a long and prosperous life. During the cold months, winter plant care can be a bit more difficult. Below, I’ve provided some helpful winter plant care tips to get your green friends through the cold season.

dracaena-floor-plant-winter-care-101073z

Caring for large plants during winter months

Large house plants do well if you keep them clean. Do this by gently wiping their leaves of grime and dust. Doing this twice a year helps the plant grow and breathe.

While rinsing, be on guard for scale, mealybugs, and spider mites. Mealybugs look like little specks of cotton. If you still see mealybugs after rinsing, spray the plant with an insecticidal soap.

In cold climates, keep plants away from or against windows, and away from heat sources. Poinsettias like moist soil, but make sure to not over water and drown them.

Winter care for poinsettias

Poinsettias are on sale almost everywhere you shop during the holiday season. Before purchasing them, make sure you inspect them for white flies or eggs, as these can go airborne and infest other plants in your home.

The onset of winter means less daylight is available. During this time of year, most house plants are semi-dormant, so it’s important to cut down on the watering. It’s also best to not fertilize until early spring. Southern states may be a little different depending on how hot the temperatures are during the winter months.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in some of our other Petal Talk articles from 1-800-Flowers.com expert Jerry Rosalia:

DIY Halloween Crafts: Halloween Flower Arrangement with Halloween Candy

Looking for the perfect decoration for a Halloween party? This DIY Halloween craft featuring a ceramic pumpkin, your favorite candies, and the best fall flowers will wow your guests — and help satisfy their sweet tooth, too.

Create this festive centerpiece for your own home or as a gift for the hosts of a Halloween party you’re attending this month. Either way, it will help set just the right mood for you to have a monstrously good time!

Materials:

Pumpkin flower pot
Scissors or knife
Floral foam (preferably with holes)
Water
Flowers (I used lilies, “Viking” daisy poms, hypericum, snapdragons, roses, and sunflowers.)
Fall glycerin leaves
Halloween candy (in wrappers)
Wire sticks (for the candy)

Halloween Flower Centerpiece DIY with Candy

How to make the DIY Halloween flower arrangement:

Choose a Halloween ceramic container or pot. I used a pumpkin ceramic pot for my creation.
Carve the floral foam to fit your pot. You will want to place the cut foam into the container to make sure it fits snugly.

diy halloween crafts with pumpkin ceramic pot

diy halloween crafts with floral foam soaking in water

Place the floral foam in water and soak it for roughly five minutes. Let the foam sink into the water so it absorbs as much water possible. If your floral foam has holes (which is preferred), make sure the holes are face down in the water. This ensures the foam will absorb the most water possible and, thus, keep your flowers well fed!
Once the foam is fully saturated, remove it from the water and place it in the ceramic pot. Make sure the foam is secure and snug inside.

diy halloween crafts with adding glycerin leaves

diy halloween crafts with gylcerin leaves

Create a base with the glycerin leaves by carefully sticking them into the floral foam. I placed the leaves low to form a base for the flower arrangement. You can cut the glycerin leaves as needed to fit your arrangement but still allow the ceramic pot to show.

diy halloween crafts with adding flowers to pot

diy halloween crafts with adding flowers to ceramic pot

Now we add our fall flowers to our ceramic pumpkin and autumn glycerin leaves. Start with the tallest flowers first (in my case, snapdragons) to give the arrangement height. Typically, the rule of thumb is the flowers should be 2 1/2 times the height of the vase.
Add the remainder of your flowers in whatever order you please. In my case, I added the lilies, hypericum, “Viking” daisy poms, roses, and, lastly, sunflowers. I added more as needed to fill the arrangement, and adjusted the height to ensure all the flowers were visible. Note: Don’t be scared of sticking the flowers into the floral foam — you want to make sure they are secure.

diy halloween crafts with candies on wire sticks

diy halloween crafts with finished halloween centerpiece

Stick your candies into the wire sticks and place the sticks in the arrangement as you see fit.
Your Halloween flower centerpiece is finished! Feel free to add more flowers and candy for finishing touches, and make sure to allow some space so people can see your creative ceramic vase.

Enjoy and happy Halloween!

How To Arrange Flowers With A Gridded Vase

Interested in learning how to arrange flowers like a professional florist? Well you’re in luck! With our gridded vase trick, you can make your own arrangement with these simple and easy-to-follow steps. Creating an arrangement like a professional florist can be done simply by using an aid, such as a gridding tool. By using ¼” stretchable clear waterproof tape (obtained at any craft or florists’ supplier) you can create an attractive arrangement.

1. The first step is to stretch tape across the mouth of the vase, one to the left of center, one to the right of center. Add two more strips crossing the existing strips to make a sort of tic-tac-toe board. You now have a square in the middle. When placing strips, adhere the first side; before securing the other side, pull tape so it is taut. How many strips you will use depends on the size of the vase opening as well as the thickness of the stems.

2. When the grid is finished, you will have tape going north and south – east and west. At this point, tape around the top of the vase, stretching as you go, to prevent the grid from falling into the vase.

3. Add water and start creating.

4. The height is up to you; it can be anywhere from ½ the height of the vase to twice its height; depending on your personal taste. If you start tall, you can always come down, not the reverse. Insert one flower in the center of the grid. Place a grouping of 4 or 5 flowers around the center, but lower. The next grouping should be lower than the first, and at an angle.

5. Then the greens go around the outside. Finish by adding water if desired.

You did it!

Rose Care: How to Save Roses with ‘Bent Necks’

From tulips to chrysanthemums, our series “The Language of Flowers” explores everything from fresh flower care tips to flower symbolism and meaning. In this article, expert florist Jerry Rosalia shows you how to save roses that begin to droop, aka develop a “bent neck.”

You’ve recently receive a beautiful bouquet of roses in a vase, but after a few days, one of the roses starts to droop, otherwise known as develops “bent neck.” If this happens to you, don’t fret; you can straighten that rose so it’s standing upright and at attention in no time.

Here, expert florist Jerry Rosalia teaches you how to save roses with bent necks in four easy steps.

How to Save Roses with Bent Necks: Roses in a Vase

Remove the rose from the arrangement.
Wrap the rose tightly in wet newspaper, leaving the stem protruding. (The newspaper helps keep the head of the rose straight, which will aid it in being hydrated.)
Cut the drooping rose under water but not under running water from a tap (which is aerated).
Place the rose in a container filled with warm water.

Within a few hours, the air will have passed out of the neck of the rose and the flower will be drinking water again. You’re welcome!