Baby's Breath Flower (2024)

FAQs

What does baby's breath flower represent? ›

Most commonly, this flower is a symbol of everlasting love—which is one reason why it's a popular wedding flower. Baby's breath also represents innocence, which makes it a lovely gesture to include in baby shower gifts and gifts for new mothers.

Keep in mind that the entire baby's breath flowers are toxic to pets as well as to people. It is best when used as decorations instead of for consumption. Vomiting and diarrhea can occur when you eat baby's breath flowers.

The Good: Baby's breath is an inexpensive and affordable option for bridesmaids' bouquets or centerpieces. It's extremely hardy and has a long lifetime. This flower also offers a light, alluring and sweet look.

Gypsophila paniculata (Baby's Breath)

Baby's Breath has long been used as a symbol of purity, innocence, hope, and new beginnings. For these reasons, it has been traditionally used in wedding bouquets and baby showers. In many cultures, Baby's Breath is given to new mothers for good luck, which is how this flower got its name.

If you wish to express sympathy and grief at a funeral for a child, baby's breath would be a good choice for your arrangement. However, this flower can also be used to express these feelings for friends and family of all ages.

Fresh ones will last anywhere from 8-10 days, or more when properly cared for. Caring for fresh ones involves preventing bacteria growth, keeping the stems hydrated, and mixing flower food preservatives to the vase water.

Description of baby's breath: Small, blue-green leaves, almost fleshy, on stems with slightly swollen joints bear a profusion of many-branched panicles containing numerous 1/8-inch wide flowers. Plants bloom in June and July.

Baby's Breath and other Gypsophila species plants contain gyposenin, a saponin, which may cause irritation to the gastrointestinal tract following ingestion. Common signs to watch for: Vomiting. Anorexia.

These stems of baby's breath saturated with water can easily survive for 2 to 3 days out of water.

How do you keep baby breath flowers alive? ›

Quickly unwrap it from it's wrapping, snip them at their stems and place them in a vase of fresh water. Don't forget to replace the water daily to keep them staying fresh as long as possible! You can also give them a fresh cut on the end of the stems daily to ensure the blooms continue to get a fresh source of water.

Carnations. The first and most affordable blooms you can buy in bulk are carnations. These are your go-to for fundraisers, recitals, or any type of large event. Carnations are a wonderful choice and a lot of the time get overlooked, but really are a versatile flower with so much to offer.

While some like the scent, others complain that it is called baby's breath because it smells like spit. This is really a personal matter. Some like it, some don't, which is undoubtedly the case with most flowers. Just be sure that you take a whiff before you have multiple centerpieces and bouquets put together.

Growing Baby's Breath is very easy, and they are quick to bloom. It is a popular flower to accent bouquets, corsages and flower vases. It also makes a great filler for at-home gardens. These plants bear an abundance of white or pink flowers.

Baby's Breath 101

In addition to producing a lovely fresh or dried flower, baby's breath softens hard edges in the garden with its billowing, branching growth habit. In ideal conditions, Gypsophila offers several flushes of blooms from late spring to fall, attracting butterflies all the while.

Medicinal Facts

The baby's breath flower is very well-known for its possible anti-cancer fighting properties. Chemicals within the flower known as saponins have the ability to break down cancer cells, opening them up to being killed by anti-cancer drugs by up to a million-fold.

Chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemums makes great choice flowers for expecting mothers as they symbolize fidelity, long life, and cheerfulness.

Pink carnations send thoughts of remembrance. The chrysanthemum, or mum, makes a wonderful choice when mourning with a family that has ties to Europe or Asia. China, Korea and Japan use white chrysanthemums to symbolize grief.

Condolence flowers are usually floral arrangements that are prepared by florists and delivered to the home of the grieving family. Sending funeral flowers is a beautiful way to show how much you care during this difficult time.

Lilies - An elegant choice, white lilies are the most popular type of funeral flowers, representing peace, grace, and dignity.

Why is it called baby's breath? ›

Originally, the flowers were found in Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. After its popularity, the flowers were grown in different parts of the world. Its name Baby's Breath, however, was derived from the fact that this flower is widely used as a special baby shower gift. It is known in Great Britain by the name Soapwort.

Baby's Breath may be grown from seed sown early indoors and transplanted outside after frost, or sown directly in the garden in summer, or planted as a potted plant. Sowing Seed Indoors: Sow indoors 6-8 weeks before outdoor planting date in spring.

Baby's breath is a budget-friendly filler because a few stems can go a long way. Most varieties, like gypsophila overtime and gypsophila million star, range from $1.50-$1.90 per stem.

Baby's breath grows best in well-draining soil that's slightly on the sandy side, with plenty of organic matter. The plant prefers alkaline soil with a pH between 7.0 to 7.5. 3.

A baby's breath doesn't usually smell. That's because they have no teeth. Your teeth and tongue collect a myriad of things that can cause your breath to smell including food debris, sugars, and bacteria.

Flowers To Avoid: Lily Of The Valley, Daffodil, Poinsettia, Azaleas, Calla Lily, Hyacinth, Oleander, Wisteria, Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Mistletoe, Holly, Sweet Pea.

Is gypsophila poisonous? YES. Is baby's breath safe to put on a cake? Yes, IF DONE SAFELY.

Baby's Breath Care. Baby's breath plants generally require very little maintenance. Plant them in a spot that gets lots of light and has good soil drainage, and they'll practically take care of themselves. You'll typically only need to water during dry spells and feed annually.

The blossom of the native Lazy daisy is like a smaller version of the Ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, which is native to western Eurasia. Lazy daisy grows to 2 feet high, and the flower heads are 1-2 inches across, 1 flower to a stem.

Tulips are the best selling cut flowers in the U.S., with annual sales revenue of $65.3 million, reported by both wholesale and retail businesses.

What is the rarest flower color? ›

Did you know that blue is the rarest flower color? Brandon George, graduate student in Public Garden Leadership at Cornell University, takes an in-depth talk on the color blue, why it is so rare in the plant world, and some tips for displaying it in a garden.

Baby's breath is a perennial; new plants come up every year from the same root system. It spreads via seeds, not a spreading root system, but one plant can produce well over 10,000 seeds.

Baby's Breath can be prone to ants. Unless you are cutting the blooms to bring them indoors, the ants don't cause much of an issue. If the pests bother you, simply pick off by hand or use a gentle homemade pest repellent such as a mix of dish soap and water.