A posy flower, also known as a nosegay, is a small bouquet of flowers typically given as a gift or used for decorative purposes. It is usually made up of a small number of flowers and is often tied together with a ribbon or string. Posy flowers have been popular since the medieval era and are still commonly used today for occasions such as weddings, proms, and other special events.
Posy flowers are also called tussie-mussies or nosegays, and they are flower bouquets that were used in medieval times.
As you read this, you can learn the following;
* Posy Flower History
* How to Determine the Right Posy Flowers Grow
* How to Care for Posy Plants
* How to Make a Posy Bouquet
* Tips for Making Posy Flower Remain Fresh
Posy Flower History
During the reign of Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom, the kingdom would create posies with special flowers and give each array of flowers a meaning. These posies were used for encoded communication between those who understood the meaning behind each flower combination. For example, if a male wanted to profess his love for a female, he can say it verbally or give her a posy of red or pink carnations, chrysanthemums, or roses; this is a Victorian language of professing love.
The woman can also reject the request for a romantic relationship by replying in Victorian language, and she can do that by sending a posy that is made up of a combination of yellow carnations and candytuft.
In this century, posies have regained their popularity as an integral part of the dressing of a bride. Posies for weddings is dome-shaped, and the flowers are arranged circularly. The flowers in the posies are tied together with a ribbon that fits the mood of the wedding. If you want to be more creative with your posies, you can visit a wedding decorator to get more inspiration on how you can uniquely arrange the flowers.
How to Determine the Right Posy Flowers to Grow
Many factors affect how you grow posies. Some of those factors include the environmental condition, the type of flower, and your purpose for growing those flowers. As such, you must first research the flowers that grow optimally in the location you want to plant them. Also, you should cut the flowers every morning to ensure that they bloom maximally. You can add preservatives to the flower bouquet to make it flourish for a more extended period.
How to Care for Posy Plants
An indoor plant gives you warmth in the house and helps to beautify your home. It also helps to refresh the air in your house as it releases oxygen, which is the constituent of the air that we need for respiration.
It is easy to grow posy plants indoors, but they require a lot of care. It is common knowledge amongst botanists that plants react to lots of environmental conditions, and these conditions determine if your posy flower thrives or dies, as such, your environment is the ultimate determinant of which flower you plant.
Light: If the plant is a foliage plant, ensure that it doesn’t have contact with the sun, especially the late afternoon sunlight, doing this ensures that the pot doesn’t dry and that the foliage is in a healthy condition.
Watering: A significant killer of indoor plants is overwatering. Both overwatering and under-watering can kill your posy flower. When watering your plant, pour the water directly into the soil and not the plant.
Foliage Plants: You need to add water to a foliage plant once a week. If you want to check if your plant needs water, simply dig a finger into the soil and check if it’s dry. Add water if the soil that is near the root is dry.
Succulents: These types of posy plants are very easy to nurture indoors. You don’t need to water them as often as you water other plants.
Don’t sprinkle the water on it, and don’t water it every day. Pour a lot of water into the soil, and leave it for a week before you repeat this action.
Fertilizer: Don’t indiscriminately add fertilizer to the soil, as that can harm the plant, you should only add fertilizer after testing the soil to know which nutrient is deficient.
Your posy flower thrives best when you add the appropriate fertilizer in the right ratio and add wetting agents.
How to Make a Posy Bouquet
Gather the posy flowers: You first need to gather the flowers you like to use. Also, you need to prepare the vase and the greenery. The best type of flowers to use is long-stem flowers like tulips, snapdragons, lisianthus, and roses. You may also add viburnum and eucalyptus to give the flower a unique shade of green. The most suitable vase for a posy is a clear vase.
Remove Foliage: Remove any foliage that is about 8-10 inches from the top of the flower.
Spiral Stems: Hold the flowers at the mid-point with your least effective hand, in this case, we assume that it’s your left hand.
Add other blooms gradually, ensuring that it’s not more than three stems at once. Place every flower you add at the right and tilt the stems to the left. As you add more flowers, spiral stems start forming. Tape the stem in the middle with florist tape.
Cut the Stems: Cut the stems straight across, at the bottom
Place in Vase: Put the posy into the vase. Make sure that you change the water every two days.
Tips for Making Posy Flower Remain Fresh
- The Vase: Ensure that the vase is clean. Also, make sure you choose the right vase for the posy. Florists recommend that the vase should not be taller than half of the height of the flower.
- Clean Flowers: Get rid of every wrapping from the posy. Ensure that the stem of the flower is clean. Remove every leaf that’s below the water level; this prevents germs from developing in the water
- Cut: Cut about 2cm from the bottom of the stem, this helps to ease the process of water absorption. After cutting the stem, place the posy back into the flower vase immediately.
- Location: Place the vase in a location where the plant is shaded from sunlight. Also, place it far away from fresh fruits, as fresh fruits emit ethylene when they’re aging.
- Rejuvenate: Recut the stem, clean the posy vase, and change the water every 3 days. This helps your posy to bloom for a more extended period. Preservatives such as bleach can also help to preserve the flower.
