For optimal results in your cutting garden, select an assortment of annuals and perennials and plant them in groups or rows, keeping similar flowers together.
Add hardy and half-hardy annuals that produce additional blooms with each harvest, as well as perennials such as yarrow, larkspur, garden phlox and peonies for even more beauty!
Annuals
Annuals are an indispensable part of many cut flower gardens, providing much-needed color and variety. Easy for beginners to grow, they often produce abundant blooms.
Before planting, take time to research each plant’s cultural needs based on its height at maturity and then group them accordingly for maximum success. This will ensure your efforts yield optimal results.
At times, annual flowers such as zinnias and sunflowers may require staked or trellising in order to reach their full height potential. Conversely, shorter annuals such as celosia or sweet peas may need pinching in order to encourage branching and long stems.
Plan your garden for easy harvesting by including wide rows or blocks of cutting plants. Make sure there is a mix of tall and shorter plants so you can find something suitable for every event or special occasion. For added pollination benefits and added variety in the garden, add vegetables or herbs into the mix as well.
Perennials
If you intend on growing perennial flowers for cutting, be sure to read their seed packet or plant label carefully. Certain varieties like peonies and lilacs require regular pruning in order to produce more blossoms, while sweet peas require support such as netting or trellises for maximum blossom production.
Perennials require well-drained soil and adding organic matter can significantly improve it. Work a couple inches of compost or other organic material into the soil prior to planting perennials or flowers that require this. Dig holes that match up to the size of their root balls before partially filling each one with loose dirt that you excavated; add some low nitrogen fertilizer as you complete filling and tamping the hole.
Arrange your garden so that tall plants, such as sunflowers, are at the back and shorter-stature flowers such as zinnias are placed throughout. Remember that some perennials such as delphiniums and snapdragons grow on long stems that need to be staked as necessary.
Zinnias
Zinnia seeds should be started indoors several weeks to a month prior to the last frost, then transplanted outdoors upon their germination. When planting seedlings directly in your garden, select an area with full sun and good drainage; follow any specific instructions found on your seed packet for optimal germination rates.
Planning your bed requires grouping plants according to their cultural requirements and flowering times – focal flowers and fillers — in order to optimize space utilization. Raised beds allow you to control soil quality more effectively, helping cut flowers thrive more readily.
As part of their cultivation regimen, deadheading flowers is essential to stimulating new blooms and prolonging their freshness. Use the “wiggle test” before harvesting each bloom; if it remains rigid after being shaken, it’s ready for cutting. When harvesting cut stems be sure to use clean tools to avoid spreading bacteria; for added freshness submerge them for an hour in water with cut flower preservative added as soon as they have been cut – or use an antibacterial cut flower preservative spray!
Containers
For those with limited space, cutting flower gardens can also be grown in containers on their deck or patio. Just ensure they get enough sunlight, aren’t too close together and receive frequent feeding and watering; some flowers such as roses and tulips prefer acidic water while others (hydrangeas and snapdragons) thrive best with alkaline solutions (hydrangeas and snapdragons).
As part of planning your cut flower garden, determine the hardiness zones and last frost dates in your area. Select flowers based on their heights and bloom times before choosing perennials that come back year after year or annuals that grow from seed. Group them according to cultural needs before placing them in beds that make snipping easier – this helps protect smaller plants from being covered up by taller ones while making it simpler to weed and water all of your plants at the same time!