Grow Your Own Cut Flowers

By: Amy Bradley

Grow Your Own Cut Flowers

Fresh flowers are a great way to bring summer beauty into the house.  Not only do they add colour and scent, brightening any room they are in, they are easy to grow in your own garden. Here are FIVE of the best flowers for cut flowers that can be grown in home gardens.

1. Snap Dragons Antirrhinum sp.

Snap Dragons are a hardy, upright annual with flowers held tightly on a stem that can grow to 120 cm in height.  They come in a wide colour range from pale cream/white to yellow, pink, rusty orange and deep ruby red.  The flower stems are strong and last up to two weeks as a cut flower. Snap dragons grow best in full to partial sun with consistent weekly watering.  Trimming off any spent bloom stems will encourage new shoots to form.  The plants have small, glossy leaves at the base, forming a multi stemmed clump 30 cm across.

2. Delphinium Delphinium sp.

A tall perennial, delphinium can grow to 2 meters in height and 50 cm across at the base of a mature clump. The tall stocks bloom heavily in early summer and repeat over the rest of the summer until an Autumn frost. Do to the height and heavy blooms, staking the plants is recommended.  Delphiniums are one of the few truly blue flowers. Coming primarily in white and blues, from a very pale blue to very dark royal blue, Delphinium add contrast in both height and colour to any arrangements.

3. Baby’s Breath Gypsophila sp

Every flower bouquet needs something to fill it out and Baby’s Breath is the perfect choice.  This perennial produces clouds of dainty white flowers on strong stems. It does best in full sun but will do fairly well in partial shade.  The roots prefer a rich, well drained soil and will benefit from being properly mulched. Each plant will grow up to 1 meter high, with branches reaching just over 1 meter across, so give it plenty of space in the garden. Flowers that are not used for fresh arrangements can be dried for use over the winter.

4. Sunflowers Helianthus sp.

There is nothing quite so cheerful as a bouquet of Sunflowers. Easy to grow from seed in a wide range of sizes, colours and habits, sunflowers make perfect bouquets.  Look for varieties that are smaller blooms on branching stocks or dwarf varieties for easy cutting. Sunflowers come in the standard bright yellow with dark brown centers as well as white/very pale yellow, red, rust or any combination of petal colours with green, brown or black centers.  Due to their height, it is best to stake the plants or put them beside a support such as a fence or trellis that they can be tied to.  Trimming the cut ends every other day will prolong their life as a cut bloom.

5. Zinnia Zinnia elgans or Zinnia sp

This charming annual has a wide colour pallet from soft, pale pinks and yellows to deep reds, oranges, lime greens and hot pink.  Zinnias have many flower forms as well. Tiny 10 cm pompoms, single and double giant 20 cm blooms, dahlia flowered, cactus flowered and more are all available.  Most plants grow to 1 meter tall and will fill out at about 0.74 – 1 m across in space. Full sun, in a compost rich soil is the best place for these beauties to grow.  The sturdy stems stand up well to wind and rarely need staking.

When cutting flowers in the garden it is best to cut directly above a branching stem or above a leaf. Try to not leave a large stub of stem as this will eventually die back and could create a place for pests to nest. Recutting the stems every few days as well as changing the water will help to keep bouquets looking fresh.

Other flowers that are perfect for homegrown bouquets include Dahlia, Lady’s Mantle, Sea Holly, Statice, Peonies, Roses, Cosmos, Nigella, Yarrow, Cone Flower, Shasta Daisy, Sweetpea and Dianthus.