Decadence on a Stem

The Rose Lily - Decadence on a Stem

In an industry as vast as floriculture, it is rare when a certain flower really shakes things up. It started about three years ago; the Rose Lily sprang onto the flower scene as the new upstart in autumn bouquets. The premise is simple; a lily with two or three times as many petals as a traditional lily, a low fragrance level and it is pollen free. The complex blooms are very impressive, pure decadence on a stem. These beauties are the eye candy of the floral industry, and we just happen to have a green house full of them!  

Eye Candy

Two springs ago, even the LA Times took note that this new hybrid is a game changer in the cut flower industry.

As beautiful as these lilies are, an issue we kept running up against was certain petals opening up before all the petals opened. This led to the bloom being uneven. 

Juan, our resident Rose Lily expert, shows a blossom where a couple petals opened up too early.

So to remedy this problem we had to get very creative, after a lot of testing, we settled on using gerbera nets on each blossom. We traditionally use these nets on our gerbera daisies, however, we found that they work perfectly for protecting the Rose Lilies. Now they burst open in a perfectly symmetrical feast for the eyes.  It definitely takes some serious effort to place a net on each bud, but at Sun Valley we are committed to delivering our customers outstanding quality, and this is a small price to pay. On the day I was out chatting with Juan, he showed me that they wait until just the right time in the buds development to slip the net on.

Juan and his crew were about to tackle netting these rows of Rose Lilies.

This autumn marks the true second generation of the Rose Lily.  According to Sun Valley Sales Manager, Doug Dobecki , "This new generation of Rose Lily has bigger and better blossoms, and there are some new colors out in the greenhouse that are gorgeous."

Last weekend, I took a bunch of Rose Lilies and a bunch of our gigantic Sumatra Lilies home.  What a wild contrast, the deep warm magenta of the Sumatra and the elaborate flourish of the Belonica Rose Lily.  This combo just jumps out of the vase at you, it demands your attention.

While cooking breakfast, I found myself just staring at the blooms, inspecting each detail.  Suddenly, the smoke detector went off.   I snapped out of my trance to find a set of pancakes smoldering on the griddle, my young son startled and about to cry and my wife jumping heroically to turn the alarm off.  ...Now isn't that the effect a flower should have on you?