It’s an alluring flower that many people admire but very few know its name. Is it a rose? A peony? A tulip? A poppy? Although frequently mistaken for all of these, it’s actually lisianthus — commonly called “lizzy.” With its delicate, unfurling trumpets of either white, purple, cream, lavender, pink, peach, yellow or bi-colored blooms in single and double-petalled varieties, lizzy is capturing the hearts of flower customers and has been gaining in popularity over the last decade.

The Fresh Produce & Floral Council once again sold out its popular Northern California Expo April 9 at the Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. There were 158 booths with representatives from over 200 companies and more than 1,300 attendees. About 40 percent of the booths showcased floral-related products.

The booth set up by Ocean View Flowers in Lompoc, CA, won the Best in Show award for the floral category.

Are you a confetti-loving, party type of person? Or do you feel more comfortable in a rustic grand lodge? How would a revival of the Gatsby era resonate with you? Does aquaculture transport you to a place of bliss? These are the four distinct categories of flower trends that Bill Schaffer and Kristine Kratt, co-owners of Schaffer Designs in Philadephia, forecast for 2014 weddings for International Floral Distributors, a consortium owned by 18 wholesale distributors with 53 locations across the United States, according to a news release.

magine waking up at 1 a.m. to discover your business property engulfed in flames. That was the devastating March 6 reality experienced by Joshua Bulk, co-owner of Rosa Flora Limited in Dunnville, ON, one of North America’s larger cut flower operations with over 1.6 million square feet of growing space and between 150 to 200 employees.

The American Institute of Floral Designers will hold the Transition Transformation 2014 National Symposium at the downtown Hilton in Chicago July 3-7. Stage presentations by floral designers from around the world will be on the program, along with education sessions, workshops, a silent auction, a floral partners expo and book fair marketplace, student competitions and awards and induction ceremonies.

The months of April and May, with all of their holidays, are obvious to us as big floral months. However, don’t overlook the potential that June offers as a month with several occasions for selling flowers. The easiest way to capitalize on these opportunities in your store is by cross-merchandising with other departments.