As Good As It Gets

Having progressed through the ranks, we are now going to examine the highest quality artificial flowers on the market today. Ten years ago, the technology for making these reproductions did not exist. They not only recreate the appearance of plants to a high degree of botanical accuracy, their surfaces have a tactile quality that feels natural. Therefore, “natural touch/new generation” was the term first coined for this new, high-grade variety of artificial blooms by the folks at Hibiscus Florals, who were early adopters of this product line.

The beautiful Casablanca Lily with
stamens laden with pollen.

This is an artificial Casablanca Lily.
It realistically reproduces the aspects
of the real lily, even the
translucency of the petals.

Only blossoms with the natural touch characteristics and which include a high degree of botanical accuracy, are classed as grade 6. These artificials are not usually made of fabric, but of molded plastics. (I don’t think we need to get into the chemistry of synthetic polymers.) The specimen I have chosen to examine is a Casablanca lily. We will be comparing a false blossom to a real one. This lily has six slightly reflexed, irregularly twisted petals. The edges are somewhat ruffled and a thick midrib provides the petal’s supporting core. Hairs and small nodules on the inner surface of the petals (nectar guides) are reference points to allow bees to orient themselves at the blossom’s interior. It has six pistils and the photo  shows them heavily laden with pollen. The leaves are blade-like with prominent lengthwise veins. The photo of the real lily shows what a beautiful blossom it is.

Here is the Casablanca Lily from the reverse angle.
It shows the stem attachment to the blossom and some
leaf structure.

This is the artificial lily. The stem attachment
is still a snap on mechanism, but it is done with great
precision and, in this case, closely resembles
the real lily. The manufacture of the leaves shows
as much care as the crafting of the blossom.

The artificial lily faithfully reproduces all these features. The color and shape are exact. The six stamens are authentic, as is the single tri-lobed pistil. Just as much care has been taken to get the leaves right -- the color, shape, veining and feel are spot on.  The reverse angle shows the mechanism for attaching blossom to stem is basically the same as with the lower grades. However, this artificial stem is so true to life and the connection is so neatly done, it does not detract from the artfulness of this specimen’s composition.

The only faux blooms graded a six must be real touch. This does not guarantee that all real touch flowers are grade six. The botanical accuracy and care in assembly must also be taken into account. There also seem to be different materials used to achieve the real touch effect and word on the web is that some materials don’t hold up as well as others. There are many on-line sources for real touch flowers and I am still researching to learn which sources offer the best product. There is a wide range in pricing, but, so far, experience confirms you get what you pay for. That means top quality artificial flowers can cost at least as much as fresh stems, and maybe a little more. They are still a better value, because they can last for years if properly cared for. Next week I will discuss how to take care of this floral investment.