Create a cut flower garden using flowers that thrive in your climate, such as Zinnias for beginners.
Pay attention to how much sun the garden receives; most cut flowers need at least six hours of direct sunlight each day in order to bloom successfully. Some plants, like peonies and lilies, bloom for only short periods each year.
Location
A dedicated cutting flower garden can be simpler to manage than its mixed bed counterpart, with rows or grids designed for easy picking. Just be sure to choose an area with enough sun exposure and healthy soil!
Planting a cut flower garden requires more consideration than planting traditional flowerbeds. As a guideline, use the recommended spacing on seed packets as a starting point – but reduce this number by 30% for optimal results.
Make the most of a sunny location by loosening and enriching the soil with compost or slow-release fertilizer, loosening soil further by loosening, loosening and loosening again, as well as succession planting to extend harvest season and mix long-stemmed annuals with hardy perennials – pinching growing tips of zinnias will encourage branching and longer stems; combine plants that share similar heights and growing conditions for an ideal uniform appearance in the garden.
Soil
Cut flower gardens require soil that drains quickly. Raised beds offer greater control over soil quality while improving water retention for healthier plants.
As soon as your area is clear of weeds, make sure your cutting flowers do not compete for water and nutrients with any existing weeds that might appear. If this happens, they could end up competing against each other for resources and water, leading to wasted effort when cutting flowers!
Plant or sow the seeds in long rows to facilitate easier weeding, staking and harvesting tasks than when working from beds or borders. Furthermore, maintaining uniform rows enables quick identification of any weeds or pests to effectively deal with them quickly.
Water
An exquisite cut flower garden requires ample water to ensure its plants thrive and bloom, so the ideal time to water is in the morning when less evaporation will occur and allow the soil to absorb nutrients more deeply.
An effective combination of perennials and annual flowers will provide continuous blooms throughout the season. Select cool-season and warm-season varieties like sweet peas, cosmos, larkspur and zinnias for best results.
Perennial flowers such as yarrows, lilacs, garden phlox and dahlias make excellent cut flowers; however, their bloom times tend to be shorter. Once harvested, trim at an angle with pruning shears or scissors for easy harvesting before placing stems in a bucket with warm water to stop any wilting before arranging in vase arrangements. For optimal vase life cut flowers should be stored somewhere cool out of direct sunlight.
Fertilizer
An organic liquid flower fertilizer will enhance bloom production. Simply sprinkle onto planting beds before watering in. Additionally, adding an application of flower booster after blooming period will also enhance results.
When selecting flowers for cutting, combine perennials and annuals for optimal bloom. Planting different heights, colors, and textures will bring visual interest to bouquets.
Start seeds several weeks, even months, ahead of the last frost date to get an early harvest. Pinch young plants like Zinnias and Celosia to encourage branching and longer stems for cutting; to do this simply remove the growing tip below the second set of leaves with your fingers or clean shears.
Pruning
An effective cut flower garden takes effort throughout the year. Ensuring proper soil health, watering levels and weed control is vital. Mulching helps retain soil moisture by reducing evaporation and cooling the roots; watering in the morning allows water to soak deeper.
Harvesting flowers properly means using sharp and clean shears or snips that make a slant cut to increase surface area and improve water uptake. Once cut, flowers should be stored in a bucket with water in order to remain hydrated.
Plan your cut flower garden around plant heights and bloom times so there are no empty spaces in your bed. For instance, place taller plants such as sunflowers at the back and medium sized blooming varieties like zinnias in the middle for optimal results.