Dreaming of vases full of fresh flowers? Then it’s time to plant a cut flower garden! It’s easy when you follow this simple three-step process: choose the right location, select a variety of flowers, and plan for proper care. Then get ready to fall in love with your beautiful and thriving garden full of gorgeous blooms that you can cut and enjoy in arrangements and bouquets.
First Step: Choose The Right Location
When selecting a location for your cut flower garden, it’s important to consider the amount of sunlight it will receive. Most cut flowers need at least six hours of sunlight per day to thrive. You can gauge the amount of sun by keeping an eye on your possible locations as the day progresses. Once sundown hits you’ll have a good idea of how much sun every area gets. You’ll also want to choose a spot that is accessible, so it’s easy to cut and arrange your flowers.
Step Two: Select A Variety Of Flowers
To create a beautiful and diverse cut flower garden, choose a variety of flowers with different colors, shapes, and bloom times. This will allow you to have a range of flowers to choose from throughout the growing season. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of seven of the best plants to start a cut flower garden. These flowers are all known for their long stems and vibrant, colorful petals, making them perfect for use in a wide range of arrangements. Plus, they are relatively easy to care for and can thrive in a variety of different climates and soil types. So if you want to create a cut flower garden that will be the envy of your neighborhood, be sure to consider these amazing plants!
Dahlias are a top pick for any cut flower garden. They grow quickly, come in a wide range of colors and versatile shapes that resemble daisies, peonies, and even water lilies. These beautiful plants are also highly productive. They’re a great choice for both small and large flower gardens. When harvesting dahlias, be sure to pick them almost fully open but not overly ripe. Check the back of the flower head for firm, lush petals – if they are papery or dehydrated, the flowers are past their prime. Using floral preservative in the water will help extend the vase life of your dahlias.
Zinnias are a summer essential with their bright and cheerful blooms in a range of colors. These easy-to-grow flowers are a great choice for beginning gardeners. They are reliable, prolific producers. To get the most out of your zinnias, consider pinching out the center flower bud when the plants are about 18 inches tall. This will encourage the development of longer stems. Harvest zinnias when the flowers are fully open. Use floral preservative in the water for a vase life of about a week.
Lilies are a classic choice for any cut flower garden due to their long-lasting blooms and deep, vibrant colors. To get the most out of your lilies, pick them when the buds are colored, and the bottom flower is just beginning to open. Be sure to remove the pollen anthers as soon as the flowers open to prevent staining. Using floral preservative in the water will help the petals retain their color from bud to full bloom and extend the vase life of your lilies.
Snapdragons are a reliable and productive choice for a cut flower garden, with their long-stemmed, cut-and-come-again flowers that bloom for many months each summer. To increase the number of blooms from your plants, consider pinching off the tips when the plants have five sets of true leaves, leaving three sets behind. This will encourage the plants to branch and produce more flowers. To maximize their vase life, harvest snapdragons when just the bottom two or three flowers are open and use floral preservative in the water for a lifespan of seven to ten days.
Gomphrena, or globe amaranth, is a late-summer favorite with its adorable, button-like blooms that resemble clover blossoms and look great in bouquets. These heat-loving plants are naturally branching, so no pinching is required. Gomphrena is known for its long vase life, with freshly harvested flowers lasting up to two weeks without preservative.
Yarrow is another great choice for a cut flower garden, with its stunning range of colors and flat-topped flower heads. This drought-tolerant plant is easy to grow in full sun. Plants can be spaced about 18 inches apart. To get the most out of your yarrow, harvest when 80% of the flowers are open on a stem and use floral preservative in the water for a vase life of about a week.
Sunflowers are a popular choice for cut flower gardens due to their easy growth and abundant blooms. They thrive in the hot summer and early autumn months and require minimal care. To ensure a continuous harvest, consider sowing successive plantings of sunflowers every seven to ten days during the spring and early summer. When choosing varieties for your cut flower garden, it’s important to look for pollenless types. To get the longest vase life from your sunflowers, harvest them as soon as the first petals begin to unfurl. When cutting the stems, be sure to strip off the bottom three-fourths of the leaves. No flower preservative is needed.
Step Three: Plan For Proper Care
Cut flowers will require regular watering, fertilizing, and deadheading (removing spent blooms) to thrive. Plan for how you will ensure that your flowers receive the care they need and stick to it to keep your garden looking its best.
Weeding may not be the most enjoyable gardening task, but it’s essential for maintaining a healthy and attractive garden. If you don’t stay on top of weeds, they’ll quickly take over and turn your garden into an unsightly mess. To avoid this, be sure to weed regularly, particularly during the summer when weeds tend to grow quickly. For a list of must-have gardening tools to help you keep up with weeding, refer to this article.
By choosing the right location, selecting a variety of flowers, and planning for proper care, you’ll be well on your way to creating a beautiful and thriving garden full of gorgeous blooms that you can cut and enjoy in arrangements and bouquets.
All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.
By Dan Heims, President, Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Photographs courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Terra Nova’s breeders have created a series of outstanding world-class echinaceas that are consistent in size, bloom power, color intensity and are a pollinator buffet. What’s not to like.
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