Behind the Scenes of a Cake Designer: Toxic Flowers Should NOT Be Used on Wedding or Birthday Cakes

While nature provides a stunning array of flowers that would add beauty to your wedding or birthday cake, one needs to be aware of the safety concerns when combining fresh flowers and food. We recommend the use of sugar flowers on a cake since fresh flowers are often sprayed with pesticides and many fresh flowers are toxic. When using fresh flowers after considering these saftey concerns, you should request that the florist put the stems in picks to prevent the water flowing from the flower into the cake. Stems should never be stuck into a cake! 

We have attached photos of some of our beautiful sugar flowers which are safe to add to cakes.  Below is a compilation of toxic flowers that should not be added to a cake, but this list should not be considered absolute.

African Violet
Amarylis
Anemone
Anthurium
Arum Lilies
Autumn Crocus
Azalea
Bird of Paradise
Bittersweet
Black-eyed Susan
Bleeding Heart
Bluebell
Buttercup
Caladium
Calla Lily
Carnation - pink family
Carolina Jasmine
Clematis
Crocus
Daffodil
Daphne
Delphinium
Four O'clock
Foxglove
Fuchsia
Gardenia
Gloriosa Lily
Goldenseal
Holly Berry
Honesty
Hoya
Hyacinth
Hydrangea
Hypericum
Iceland Poppy
Iris
Ivy
Jasmine
Jessamine
Jonquil
Laburnum
Lantana
Larkspur
Lily family
Lily of the Valley
Lobelia
Lupins
Marsh Marigold
Mistletoe
Monkshood
Morning Glory
Narcissus
Nightshade
Oak
Ohio Buckeye
Oleander
Oriental Poppy
Periwinkle
Philodendron
Poinsettia
Primula
Privet
Rhododendron
Rock Poppy
Snowdrop
Spring Adonis
Star of Bethelem
Sunflower
Sweet Pea
Tobacco
Trumpet Vine
Tulip
Virginia Creeper
Water Hemlock
Wild Cherry
Windflower
Wisteria
Wolfsbane
Yellow Allamanda
Yellow Oleander

Visit the Sweet Grace, Cake Designs to view more beautiful sugar flowers (http://www.sweetgrace.net).