Baby's breath is a herbaceous plant - let's get to know baby's breath

Other names for baby's breath

Baby's breath, originally named double-petaled Gypsophila, also known as po tong qian, originates from the Mediterranean coast. It belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family and is a perennial herbaceous flower of the genus Gypsophila.

Growth habits of baby's breath

Baby's breath likes warm, humid and sunny environments, is relatively shade-tolerant and cold-tolerant, and grows best in well-drained, fertile and loose loam soil. The cultivation soil is best with slightly alkaline calcareous loam, and drainage and sunlight need to be good. Once the plant height is above 20 cm, the amount of watering should be reduced moderately; slight drought can promote flowering, and especially after flowering, poor drainage or prolonged rain can easily cause root rot. It likes warmth and avoids high temperature and excessive humidity, with an optimum growth temperature of 10-25°C.

Morphological characteristics of baby's breath

Baby's breath is an evergreen dwarf small shrub, with a plant height of about 65-70 cm, thin stems and smooth skin, many branches, narrow and long leaves, no petioles, opposite arrangement, and powdery green leaf color. Baby's breath resembles Gypsophila muralis in appearance, with flowers from white to light pink. Common ones include: Carmine red, with deep rose-red flowers; Large white flower, with large, white flowers; Rose red, with light rose-colored flowers. Flowers can be double-petaled or single-petaled.

Varieties of baby's breath

Fairy: Can also be cultivated in summer, blooms year-round, with pure white flowers.

Perfect: Not tolerant of low-temperature weather, with relatively large flowers, crystal white, can be used for corsages and dried flowers.

Diamond: Relatively short plant, coarse-growing and easy to grow, blooms in autumn, with pure white flowers.

Flamingo: Thin and long stems and branches, blooms in spring, with light red flowers.

Red Sea: Thick stems, can bloom from spring to autumn, with peach-red flowers.

The flower language of baby's breath

The flower language of baby's breath is: purity, care, longing, supporting role, true love and a pure heart.

Using baby's breath as a filler material for flower arrangements can handle the relationships of weight, density, concealment and exposure, bending and lifting, distance and height in the arrangement, making the work more layered and deep, and fully showing a sense of three-dimensionality, haziness and fluffiness. For example, inserting just a few rose branches can also show their beauty, but if a bunch of baby's breath is added, it can create an even stronger supporting effect, making the theme and accessory express very harmoniously and blending naturally, achieving a profound implication in which the solid contains the void and the void is even more solid. A poet described this scene as "red and green trees in every home, white and blue smoke everywhere." This is just like the folk saying: "A peony may be beautiful, but it still needs green leaves to support it."

The role of baby's breath

In early summer, baby's breath continuously produces small white flowers, with lush, delicate and evenly distributed blooms. Like stars, it is hazy and charming, and also like a tree covered with snow, clear and lovely, suitable for planting in flower beds, along roadsides and in flower hedges, and also very suitable for potted display and bonsai making. Baby's breath is likewise an indispensable filler flower material in flower arrangements; inserting a few stems of baby's breath into a bouquet adds a touch of charm.

Baby's breath can be used as medicine. It is harvested in summer and autumn when the flowers and leaves are lush, washed, and dried in the shade or used fresh. It can clear heat and promote urination, resolve phlegm and relieve cough. It is used for acute icteric hepatitis, acute nephritis, whooping cough, urinary tract stones, athlete's foot, herpes zoster, conjunctivitis and erysipelas.