Are you trying to choose which flowers to grow? We’ll be honest – it’s probably one of the hardest decisions to make because there are so many amazing blooms to choose from! If you are just starting out, it can definitely feel overwhelming to look at all the lists out there of flowers that are recommended to start with. Everyone has different ideas and opinions, and all of a sudden your list gets longer and longer until you just don’t know where to start!
Never fear! We are here to help you learn how to choose the best cut flower varieties that will work for you. Yes, we’ll let you in on a few of our favorite flowers to grow, but otherwise we want to help you learn to listen to your needs and wants, and take it from there! If you haven’t checked out our blog on starting a cut flower garden – give it a read here for a foundation of info before you dig in.
Why do You Want to Grow Flowers?
You’ll need to start with deciding on your end use before you get carried away by all the pretty pictures of flowers out there. Are you growing these for a beautiful yard, for the pollinators, or to cut for flower arranging? While there are many tried and true varieties across all of these end uses, there are varieties that definitely fit better into some categories than others. Where you begin your flower journey will definitely depend on why you’re beginning your flower journey.
Do you think you’d be more farmer or florist? Take our quiz to find out!
Long Term, or One Year at a Time?
Another decision to consider when you’re deciding which flowers to grow is whether you want to start with perennial or annual varieties. Perennials are plants that come back every year, but tend to have a shorter bloom window. Annuals only live for one growing season and die every winter, but typically have more varieties that we call “cut-and-come-again” – they push more blooms the more you cut them!
If you want to get started quickly, you may want to start with a heavier planting of annual variety blooms instead of perennial, as perennials often have a wait time of a year or more until they are fully established and producing the maximum amount of blooms. Don’t skip them completely though!! Perennials will pay you back over the years with their easy care multiple times over. Annuals produce a lot of blooms, but you’ll have to either start them from seed or purchase them at a garden center every year.
Don’t Forget the Supporting Team!
Another consideration? Greens and filler! Making a vase without greenery that lasts and smaller “filler” blooms is much harder than it seems. These support varieties are really important flowers to grow if you plan on using your garden for cutting flowers for vases. While many people think mostly of those fabulous focal flowers (because let’s face it they ARE amazing!), you want to have a well rounded variety of flowers to work with for structural support, accent colors, and additional textures.
Even if you’re choosing which flowers to grow for just having in your garden or for the bees, it can be really nice to have visual variety too!
Our Top Five to Start
As a beginning cut flower grower you most likely want to choose which flowers to grow based on quick wins and easy to grow varieties…not to mention flowers that also tend to grow fast! There are a few that meet these criteria and stand out in the crowd as the best ones over and over again, proving to be some of the best flowers for literally generations of flower lovers and growers alike, so let’s dig in!!
Zinnias:
These round cuties are super easy to grow and come in a wide range of colors and sizes, making it a really versatile and useful cut flower. A summer staple, these cut-and-come-again sunshine loving annuals show up in backyard gardens + flower market booths alike!!
Their seeds are relatively inexpensive and available practically everywhere, and with a high germination rate they make a great addition to your list of which flowers to grow. They are also sold as small plants at garden centers, in case you aren’t looking to start from scratch.
Zinnias are not a fan of humidity (since they hail from Mexico!), so watch them for diseases if you have a particularly wet growing season. A wonderful flower for attracting pollinators, butterflies are drawn to their bright colors and can often be found in our fields flitting above them.
Cosmos:
These delicate blooms are a staple in the garden for most flower lovers, so it should be no surprise that these are on the list! Their bright and cheery flowers atop tall stems blow in the breeze, and are what most people picture when they think of a wildflower bouquet.
Cosmos come in multiple shades of pink, purple, orange, and white, as well as different petal varieties, giving you lots to choose from all season long. Not particularly fussy about the soil type they are planted in, these flowers thrive in almost any type of planting space. They do require 6-8 hours of full sun to bloom at their peak but can tolerate a little shade if they are getting the amount of sun needed through the day.
Despite their delicate appearance, these cut-and-come-again flowers are a true garden workhorse, and their high germination rate also tends to lead to successful direct sowing right into the ground! No seed starting trays required (unless you want to! They also transplant well). Late in the season they can get a little unruly since they will have grown all season, so choose their location with care.
Sunflowers:
I would wager to say one of the most recognizable flowers is the sunflower! Folks have entire festivals wrapped around this flower, and you can even find some places in the world where they design mazes with them.
Great for cut flowers, pollinators, birds, and a food source, the sunflower is a multifaceted bloom that serves lots of different purposes. They come in all colors and sizes, too! From the classic bright yellow with dark center, to dusty rose petals, and ivory with yellow centers, there’s a sunflower out there for everyone.
Not particularly choosy in the type of soil they are grown in, you can sow the seeds directly in the ground for an easy start and in typically around 60 days you’ll have gone from seed to bloom! Sunflower seeds are inexpensive and germinate well, gardeners of all skill levels can grow them and they really require minimal care. Who wouldn’t be happy with that?
Snapdragons:
Snapdragons may not be at the top of most people’s list to grow, but this incredibly versatile flower with its light scent, wide range of colored spike type flowers, and long vase life make these a staple for any cut flower garden!
A word of caution for the new gardener – these seeds are super tiny! I mean like the size of a dust particle! While they aren’t the best flower to start off germinating on your own, snapdragons are readily available at most garden centers and are easy to grow once they are out of the seed starting stage.
This cut-and-come-again variety really helps add dimension and height to bouquets or can be grouped on its own. These flowers are versatile and a great choice for small gardens when you first start!
Batchelor Buttons:
Here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with the influence of the Chesapeake Bay, it feels like everyone loves blue flowers. These lightly fringed, thistle looking flowers are one of the only true blues – as well as a variety of other colors, too! Shades of purple, pink, white, and maroon round out the mix.
This incredibly versatile flower is easy to grow, overwinters well and is also a culinary delight; people, butterflies, pollinators, and goldfinches alike seem to love this flower! These plants grow super tall, and have lots of branching stems that continuously put out new blooms if you keep up with cutting them as they grow. Their foliage is whimsically wispy and also great to use in arrangements, adding more wildflower vibes to your vases!
Germination rates are high if you choose to grow from seed, making these a great beginner flower.
And Now You Know!
So there you have it – our top five cutting flowers for easy rewards in the garden! These quick to grow, low input, not finicky flowers cover all the areas for amazing flower production. They produce lots of blooms, are easy to grow, have multiple uses, attract all sorts of pollinators, have extended vase life, work well in the garden with other flowers and do not have a significant amount of pest or disease pressure for you to have to worry about. Easy to grow on all levels of knowledge and kid friendly, these flowers are a great place to start!
Looking for more info? Make sure you grab our guide on the Top Cutting Flowers for Your Garden where we dig in a little deeper about what to grow, what to try, and what to buy for each season!
Happy growing!! Tag us in your photos, we’d love to see!
