Name these yellow thingies

June 17, 2007 1:14 AM

What are these flowers called and how long should they last (when cut)?
posted by tasty to science & nature (7 comments total)

Those flowers look like gerberas to me. I don't know how long they last, but here are some tips.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:19 AM on June 17, 2007

Yes, they're gerberas.
posted by Solomon at 1:28 AM on June 17, 2007

Those are Gerbera Daisies. One of my personal favorites.

Cut, they don't last particularly long - they typically begin to droop around day 4. (And once the petals begin to go, they all fall out relatively quickly.)

For this reason, I suggest ordering them from ProFlowers. They guarantee the freshness of their flowers for seven days after they arrive. They have a Gerbera-only bouquet that I've ordered before that is very nice, and they have a few that integrate Gerberas with other flowers. (This is what I got when I searched their site for Gebera.)
posted by jennak at 1:36 AM on June 17, 2007

You can buy wires from florists that you can wrap around the stems so that they don't droop. Some places sell the flowers already wired.
posted by cholly at 2:03 AM on June 17, 2007

Cholly has a good idea. You can also use a clear drinking straw sliced lengthwise and placed around the stem.
posted by vers at 3:15 AM on June 17, 2007

Gerberas will droop their heads long before the flowers fall apart. Cholly's absolutely right - if you want them to look good longer, use some wire(I find packing tape works well too).
posted by OrangeDrink at 11:18 AM on June 17, 2007

I have read (but not tried myself) that these do best when only in an inch or two of water.
posted by dipolemoment at 8:59 PM on June 18, 2007