One of my favorite things about having a garden is the ability to cut flowers for indoor arrangements. It is easy to add a few flowering plants to your garden that will last in a vase. All of the annuals mentioned in this article last five or more days in a vase of water.
Part One covered summer blooming annuals that are generally not cold hardy. This is Part Two and will cover the cool season annuals that bloom in spring and fall but don’t take the heat of summer as well. Here are five favorites for indoor cut flower arrangements.
Blue Lace Flower (Trachymene coerulea) – Huge clusters of delicate purple-blue flowers on 2’ stems make this flowering plant one of the most beautiful cut flower annuals. Humisy, well-drained soil is needed and full sun to part shade. In hot or humid summers the plant may stop blooming so start indoors six weeks before last frost date to get a head start on the growing season. Some catalogs may list it under the old name of Didiscus if you can’t find blue lace flower plant under Trachymene. Blue lace flower will last a week in a vase of water.
Calendula (Calendula spp.) – Calendula is an easy-to-grow, cool-season annual historically used in teas and herbal remedies that also boasts bright yellow or red flowers. Calendula blooms best in cooler weather so don’t be surprised if the flowers fade as summer heats up. Average, well-drained soil is best and calendula will tolerate full sun to part shade. Start calendula plants indoors a few weeks before the last frost date or purchase bedding containers to set out as soon as the ground thaws. Excellent calendula varieties for cutting flowers include ‘Prince’ with large flowers on 12-18” stems, ‘Pacific’ hybrids, and the ‘Touch of Red’ calendulas which have red tinged petals. Cut calendula flowers when the blooms are almost fully open and recut stems underwater for flowers that last nearly a week in the vase.
Sweet Pea (Lathryus odoratus) – The fragile looking flowers of the sweet pea vine are actually long-lasting, fragrant and colorful making them excellent choices for cut flower plants. Sweet pea plants grow as a vine 5-6’ tall up a pole, fence or trellis and prefer full sun and average, well-drained soil. Cut the red, pink, purple or white pea flowers just as the blooms open and their will last about a week in the vase. Unlike other pea varieties, sweet pea seeds are not edible. Varieties with long stems or fragrant flowers good for cutting are ‘Old Spice’, ‘Painted Lady’, Winter Elegance’, ‘Mammoth’ and ‘Royal Family’.
Pansy (Viola x Wittrockiana) – Long one of the first flower plants to show its cheerful blooms in the spring. Pansy cultivars are now so hardy that even through zone 5 gardeners put them out in the fall and enjoy the cool season blooms all winter. Rich to average well-drained soil is preferred by pansies and good sun is best but part shade is tolerated. Most will die back in the heat of summer so just select the Pansy bedding plants with the colors you like best. Cut the long stems to add to an arrangement or lift part of the plant and put in a small dish for a long-lasting indoor display.
Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa atropurpurea) – Sweet fragrance, and fluffy pincushion shaped flowers make this cool-season annual a joy for cut flower gardeners. Rich soil in full sun is best for the scented scabiosa but part shade in the heat of summer can help extend the blooms. Pincushion flowers are blue, lavender, white or pink and highly attractive to butterflies. These cut flowers from on 2’ stems that may require staking. Start seeds in late winter or early spring in biodegradable pots to avoid transplant stress but still get the longest growing season for the cool weather annuals. ‘Imperial Mix’ scabiosa has a nice range of colors and the variety 'Drumstick’ (Scabiosa stella) is prized as a dried flower also.
What success have you had using cut flowers from your garden (or your nieghbor's garden!)? See what happened to my brother and share your own story in the discussion thread.
More Cut Flower Plant Articles:
- Summer Annual Cut Flower Plants
- Summer Blooming Perennial Cut Flower Plants
- Fall Blooming Cut Flower Plants
