10 Fun Facts About Flowers that will Surprise You

Did you know that flowers once cut can last up to 14 days? That is quite a long time to last for such delicate little beauties. Not only are flowers beautiful (& sometimes smell disgusting… more on that below!) but they are fascinating. The more I learn about flowers the more I love them. I’ve collected some of my favorite flower trivia for you below. Some of these fun facts about flowers may surprise you!

Flower fact #10

Several Centuries ago tulips were more valuable than gold. One bulb cost around $2000. And that was several centuries ago, now with inflation that would be much more. I don’t know about you, but that is my kind of gold!

Flower fact #9

Orchids don’t need soil to grow in. Once they have germinated in a small amount of soil, the need less and less soil as they mature. In Orchid’s natural habitat they function as air plants. Meaning that they get all their nutrients from the air. Many orchids grow on the limbs of trees. Isn’t that cool?

Flower fact #8

#8: 99.9% of the time, standard white carnations will have a spec of red on the petals. Carnations were originally red and to this day that red gene is still dominant. Science is so cool!

Flower Fact #7

A Sunflower’s blooms always face the sun. This is so it can receive the sunlight that it needs for photosynthesis. The term for this ability to follow the sun as it arcs across the sky is heliotropism.

Flower fact #6

#7: Carnivorous plants that eat bugs and small animals do exist. Not just in Harry Potter!

Venus fly traps have leaves that are covered by little hairs. When bugs will land on the hairs, it triggers the trap to shut and the bug is digested by the juices in the trap.

And Pitcher plants are full of digestive fluids. Small insects and frogs are attracted to the smell of the nectar in the pitcher and its bright colors, but if they fall into the juices they are digested.

Flower fact #5

Saffron, the most expensive spice comes from a type of crocus flower, Crocus sativus. Three stigmas are handpicked from each crocus flower, and set out to dry on trays over charcoal fires. No wonder it is expensive, each flower only produces several strands of saffron and has to be hand picked!

Flower Fact #4:

Soil acidity can determine the color of hydrangeas.

It’s true, the acidity level in the soil determines the color of hydrangeas. More acidic, the more blue the blooms will be. If it is less acidic, the blooms will be pink. Fascinating, right? In 2013 I was able to go and visit some hydrangea farms in the Netherlands for work. Looks like the soil was fairly acidic behind me.

Flower Fact #3

Flowers once cut, can last between 10 to 14 days! If properly cared for flowers can last almost two weeks! Unfortunately, unless you are cutting flowers from your own garden, we don’t always know how long ago the flowers we purchase were originally cut. But if we properly care for them, they can last quite a long time.

Flower Fact #2:

Not all flowers smell good. In fact, one specifically smells like rotting flesh the Titan Arum nicknamed the corpse flower.

A few years ago, the Corpse Flower bloomed at the New York Botanical Garden. Naturally, I had to go and smell this rotting flesh smell from the bloom myself. Another fun flower fact is that the corpse flower only booms every 8 to 10 years. It takes this long for the flower to collect all the energy to begin its bloom cycle.

The smell was awful, It’s crazy, but this stinky flower really drew some crowds. Haha. Crazy people like me that had to see and smell it for themselves. Although it wasn’t as strong as I anticipated due to being far away from it and in a large room, I could imagine being trapped in a small room with that bloom would be the worst.

Flower Fact #1

The most expensive flower ever sold is a Shenzhen Nongke Orchid. It took eight years to develop and it only blooms once every four to five years, but it was sold for $200,000 at an auction!

$200K for a bloom that only blooms once every for to 5 years? That is insane. Also, I gotta see this bloom for myself. So maybe the person who bought it will charge an admission fee to see the bloom. Could be a wise investment. Haha!

I hope you enjoyed these 10 fun facts about flowers. Do you know any fun facts about flowers that didn’t make the list? Please share them in the comments below. I’d love to hear them.

xx

Emily

PS- You may also enjoy checking out this article on arranging flowers, enjoy!