Many cut flowers, such as sunflowers, sweet peas and delphiniums require special care in order to thrive. Make sure your cutting tools are free from bacteria which could spread plant diseases; and add sugar or an alkaline solution such as vinegar or baking soda as necessary in your vase’s water to avoid harmful chemicals in its solution.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers add late summer and early autumn hues to bouquets, particularly when combined with black-eyed Susans or ornamental grasses. Growing sunflowers from seeds is among the easiest methods available and planting wide rows means less reaching required when cutting them for arrangements.
If you plan to grow sunflowers from seed, consider selecting a branching variety specifically designed for cut flower designs. These plants produce longer stems with side branches that better suit floral design than their seed-bearing counterparts and some even lack pollen; which helps ensure quicker blooming times!
Sunflowers should be planted either directly into the ground or transplanted when temperatures have warmed and all frost danger has passed. To protect young plants from frost damage, newly seeded beds are covered with frost cloth (also referred to as row covers or Agribon). As cut flowers are susceptible to bacterial diseases, such as salmonella, it is wise to regularly add either an acidic or alkaline solution into their water source to ensure that your water remains free of bacteria.
Sweet Peas
Sweet peas have long been beloved flowers. Not only are they fragrant and hardy plants that bring back memories from childhood, but they’re also excellent cut flowers with surprising productivity.
Soak your seeds for at least 24 hours prior to sowing in order to boost germination rates and plant them directly outside (they’re reasonably frost tolerant). They need some protection from wind and cold, such as low tunnels or straw bales – although cloches work just as effectively!
As you create your garden, prioritize blooming flowers that offer long-term fresh cut options and plants with beautiful foliage, such as artemisia or coleus. When organizing beds for this design approach, place taller blooming varieties like sunflowers towards the back while mid-sized varieties such as zinnias are in the middle and shorter plants such as tulips, hydrangeas or carnations can fill out in front.
Annuals
Annuals make an ideal addition to any cut flower garden, boasting an incredible diversity in terms of colors, heights, textures and ease of propagation from seed.
As you plant your cutting flower garden, keep bloom times of each plant in mind to avoid gaps once plants like sweet peas are finished blooming.
Take into consideration whether there is enough space available for planting your flowers in rows that can easily be reached, particularly if you plan to cut your own blooms. Keep in mind that many plants in a cut flower garden require constant moisture so ensure there are easy-access water sources nearby.
One popular strategy is creating plant beds running east-west, so that tall plants such as sunflowers and delphiniums are in the back, medium-sized plants like zinnias fill out the middle, while short plants like snapdragons sit proudly at the front.
Perennials
Your cutting garden should feature an assortment of flower types. This ensures a fresh bouquet for each season of use.
Be sure to research your USDA growing zone and select some of the top flowers suitable to your climate and gardening experience. Doing this will prevent planting too early, potentially harming both their growth potential as well as that of you as an individual gardener.
Focus on selecting a combination of perennial flowers that bloom continuously throughout the season and annuals with extended blooming times for your bouquet, which makes harvesting flowers easier and provides fresh blooms throughout summer. Perennials like yarrow and heleniums provide vibrant color for beginners while garden phlox produces fragrant clusters in late summer that come in yellow, orange, red or pink depending on variety.