Part of the joy of growing flowers at home is cutting and displaying those flowers in your home. With proper planning, you can have flowers available for cutting from early spring until killing frosts arrive in autumn. A wide range of suitable plants are available.
Location
Most gardeners will incorporate cutting type cultivars into existing flower gardens. In many instances, these plants will be located near the back of a flower bed because of their height.
However, if ample room is available, you may wish to establish a special cutting garden in an out of the way location. In this type of garden, you need not worry about height placements, color combinations, and spacing between plants since the garden would not necessarily be for public viewing. A variety of flowers that would not ordinarily appear in the same garden would then be available for cutting each day. Another point in favor of this type of garden is that you do not ruin the look of your regular flower beds when you cut fresh flowers for your home.
Plant Selection
Annuals, biennials, perennials, hardy bulbs and tender bulbs can be used as cut flowers for home use. In some cases, you will want to choose specific cultivars that, because of their height, are ideal for cutting.
Cutting Flowers From Your Garden
Plan to cut your flowers in the morning or late evening when they are crisp and turgid with water. Use a very sharp knife or pair of shears (no dull scissors allowed) and immediately put the stems into a bucket of hot water (110 F). Keep the flowers in the water for about 2 hours. When you are ready to arrange the flowers, select a suitable container that has been thoroughly cleaned with soap and water. Strip off the leaves that will be under water and add a commercial floral preservative to the water to prolong flower life. Change the water often and keep the flowers in a cool location. If flowers begin to wilt prematurely, recut the lower one-half inch of the stem and put fresh water and preservative in the container.
Drying Cut Flowers
Certain flowers can be dried so that you can enjoy them during the winter as well. First, harvest flowers at their peak of excellence and when not wet with dew. Cut about twice as many flowers as you will need and strip off the leaves. You can air dry the flowers by hanging them upside down in a dark, warm and airy place. Drying will take 2-3 weeks. Another method involves burying individual flowers right side up in fine clean dry sand or silica gel. These may take 1-4 weeks to dry. Dried flowers may then be sprayed with a protective coating to help preserve them.
Article By Bedding Plants Inc.
Some of Grimm’s Gardens Favorite Cut flowers:
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| Allium |
| Alstroemeria |
| Asiatic Lily |
| Asters |
| Bee Balm |
| Black Eyed Susan |
| Blanket Flower |
| Blue False Indigo |
| Canna |
| Carnations |
| Chysanthemums |
| Columbine |
| Coreopsis |
| Daffodil |
| Dahlias |
| Daylily |
| Delphiniums |
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| Garden Phlox |
| Gerberas |
| Gladiolus |
| Hibiscus |
| Iris |
| Lavendar |
| Liatris |
| Marigold |
| Peony |
| Purple Coneflower |
| Rose |
| Shasta Daisy |
| Sunflower |
| Tulip |
| Yarrow |
| Zinnia |
