I haven't changed my mind nor my tune this Valentine's Day. Why give something to a lover when it is grown on the backs -- or I should say health -- of others? That makes no sense, especially when there are alternatives. If you must buy flowers why not insist on those that carry the USDA Organic Certificate? Insist on it. If enough do, organic flowers will be the norm next year.
Ah, but I have another suggestion. If you are still inclined to give flowers to a loved one this Valentine's day, why not consider a houseplant in bloom? Yes, some of these have been treated with chemicals. But none, as far as I can tell, cause workers to be exposed in the way the cut flower industry exposes its workers. Moreover, once home, you can wash the plant and certainly stop the practice of using chemicals.
At the top of the list are amaryllis bulbs. I won't belabor the point as they are too often mentioned in this column. One last time: If you buy one that is in bud, you are guaranteed at least one gigantic, beautiful flower by simply adding water. Just be sure that you don't buy a bulb that has already bloomed or started to bloom and has been damaged as a result.
Next on the list really should be orchids. They are no longer just for prom dates. The variety available from supermarket floral departments alone is fantastic and if you want something really, really special, check with your favorite nurseries. Make sure these plants end up in a place where they will get good light and cool nights and almost any you buy locally will bloom again and again and again. An orchid plant is a much more thoughtful gift that 12 cut roses, a Valentine's gift that keeps giving. You might even add a class on orchids. Check with Dimond Greenhouse (www.dimondgreenhouses.com) which specializes in orchids and holds classes periodically.
Still stuck on those dozen cut roses? How about a blooming bromeliad for Valentine's Day? These are the plants that look like the tops of pineapples. They throw off fantastic, almost out-of-a-science-fiction-movie flowers sporting wild reds, blues and purples. They are easy to care for, provided you know the secret: Keep the "well" formed in the center by the leaves filled with water. Most will bloom again next year, especially if you enclose the entire plant in a bag with a cut apple next winter. After 48 hours, the ethylene gas given off by the apple triggers flowering in healthy plants.
Wholesale growers need to get rid of their winter blooming begonias to make way for summer stock and have turned to St. Valentine to help them. These plants are not the giant, tuberous begonias of summertime fame, but rather smaller, fibrous rooted plants with small, hea rt-shaped leaves and pink or red blooms -- the reason they are featured now. Even without flowers, heart-shaped leaves make many begonias a great Valentine's gift.
Or, what are a dozen cut roses as a Valentine's Day gift when compared to a gloxinia plant in bloom? Now is when they start to come available and if you can find one of these relatives of the African violet, buy it. Gloxinias used to be all the rage but have been replaced by their African cousins. The ones available in the spring have large, rough and leathery leaves with really beautiful, big, trumpet-shaped, velvety flowers. Leaves can be used to develop more plants; so once you have a gloxinia, you are set for life. What a great gift of love.
Finally, last year I found blooming primroses at a favorite nursery before Valentine's Day. They bloomed their heads off for while indoors and we couldn't help but notice their magical fragrance, something you can't always appreciate when growing them outdoors, which is exactly where I put them in the late spring and where I expect to see them re-bloom this spring.
So, there you have it. You could get a dozen roses, but you have been warned and most probably so has your intended! Instead of those thoughtless roses, get a blooming plant.
Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame. Contact him at gci.net/~jeff/gardener.
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