SHIFTING ROOTS

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10 Easiest Annual Cut Flowers to Grow From Seed and 2 to Avoid

December 10, 2019

Growing a cut flower garden, whether it’s a small plot in your backyard or for profit as part of a flower farm is extremely rewarding. While many perennial flowers make beautiful cut flowers, the true heart of a cut flower garden is annual flowers grown from seed.

Starting flowers from seed can seem intimidating, but it’s quite easy once you get the hang of it. I’ve compiled a list with pictures of my favourite annual cut flowers that are easy to grow, plus a list of those which are harder for beginners. It doesn’t mean you can’t grow the harder ones, they’re just a bit more challenging!

Hey! If you’re someone who likes videos better, this one is for you!

How Long Does it Take to Grow Cut Flowers from Seed?

The days to maturity of each annual flower will vary. The seed packet of each flower variety will give a range of how long the flower needs to grow. Most cut flowers that I grow have a range of 70-100 days to maturity.

One confusing thing about the term “days to maturity” is that it measures the time it takes from the seed being in the ground to the first bloom that opens. This means that you might have 70 days until the first bloom, but it might be more like 80 or 85 days until the flower really gets going.

This is probably not a problem in places with longer growing seasons, but I live in zone 3 in Saskatchewan, where we only have 90-100 growing days depending on what the frost decides to do that year.

Because I have a short growing season, I start almost all of my cut flowers indoors, then direct seed a second crop of the seeds with a shorter number of days to maturity. This way, I’m guaranteed flowers even if we have an early frost and something unexpected happens at either end of the growing season.

When Do I Start Flowers From Seed Indoors?

Generally, I start my flowers 4-6 weeks before I intend to set them outside. I have started them earlier, but I find that they are difficult to harden off and take forever to get going. I’m working on refining my hardening off process, and I promise to share it with you when I find something that’s a little more fool-proof.

That said, there are some varieties that need to be started 8 weeks or more before you intend to plant. Check your seed packets to confirm when it’s best to plant.

Where is the Best Place to Buy Cut Flower Seeds?

You can buy cut flower seeds at your local garden centre or from online seed companies. If you don’t care too much about specific varieties and colours, it’s fine to pick up whatever you find at a garden centre or even a big box store.

If you’re looking for specific specialty colours or the prettiest flowers to blow up your IG feed, you’ll probably need to order online. I’ve compiled a list of the best places to buy seeds for a cutting garden in Canada, the US, and Europe.

Related: The Best Places to Buy Cut Flower Seeds Online

The Best Annual Cut Flower Seeds for Beginners

With all that out of the way, here are my favourite easy-to-grow cut flowers that are perfect for beginners. At the end of the list, I’ll also include others which I think you should avoid, either because they have really long days to maturity, or are difficult to grow.

1. Amaranth

Amaranth is one of the easiest possible flowers for a beginner, especially the Love Lies Bleeding variety pictured here. Direct sow early in the spring, basically forget about them (an occasional watering is appreciated) and collect the blooms in the fall.

2. Calendula

Calendula is a multipurpose flower in the garden. It’s a beautiful and versatile cut flower, it is a beneficial flower in the vegetable garden, and it’s leaves are great dried in homemade beauty products. Who knew a flower that’s so pretty could have so many uses?

3. Cosmos

Cosmos are a wonderful cut-and-come-again flower. There are so many beautiful varieties available that you don’t have to just stick to the basic ones. Try the cupcake, double flowering, or lemon varieties.

4. Pincushions

Pincushions are amazing because they look good at every point in their life cycle. Whether you cut them when they’re just emerging, in bloom, or as a seed pod, they look interesting in the vase.

P.S. When you’re done planning your cut flower garden, come back and watch this video to make the best bouquets.

5. Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia is available in both perennial and annual varieties. This beautiful flower will bloom in late summer and last all the way into the fall until a hard frost.

  • The 36 Best Cut Flowers (Mostly Perennials)
  • 53 Favourite Perennials for Zone 3
  • Where to Buy Floret-Style Cut Flower Seeds in Canada

6. Snapdragons

Snapdragons are easy to find in garden centres and big box stores if you aren’t able to start them from seed yourself. Look for the Madame Butterfly and Rocket varieties to ensure they grow tall enough for cutting.

Snapdragons are surprisingly hardy, and will survive the first frost of the season.

7. Stock

Stock is not a cut-and-come-again flower, but it’s so pretty and so easy to start from seed that it still makes my list. My stock plants also survived the hardening off process in the spring the easiest.

8. Strawflowers

Strawflowers are hands down my new favourite cut flower to grow from seed. Almost every seed I planted came up, they last a long time in the vase, are a cut-and-come-again flower, and are easy and fun to save seeds from. Just make sure you purchase a tall variety, and not a dwarf one that’s meant for pots.

9. Sunflowers

A fall garden isn’t complete without sunflowers! You don’t have to stick with just the yellow ones either. There’s a whole range of beautiful blooms in brown, red, pink, and orange too, with many variations in between. Choose branching varieties so you get the most blooms possible.

10. Zinnias

In my opinion, zinnias are the backbone of a cut flower garden. There’s so many varieties with gorgeous, vibrant colours, in any size. They’re easy to start from seed, and grow well direct soon too. For something different, try growing the Zinderella and Queen Lime varieties.

Cut Flowers Beginners Should Avoid

While I’m a firm believer that you should plant what you love, I also think a head’s up as to what might be difficult for beginners is good too. The following flowers on my list are either hard to grow, had some surprising negatives for them, or require an extra long period to maturity.

Please remember that it’s my personal opinion and what is difficult in my zone 3 garden on the prairies, might not be as difficult where you live.

Poppies

Okay, okay, stop sharpening your pitchforks! I love poppies, but here’s why I think they might not be the best choice for beginners.

  1. Icelandic poppies are finicky to grow in a short growing season. I was able to get them to work by starting them in compostable newsprint pots (Icelandic poppies don’t like to be transplanted, but have a longer period of maturity that doesn’t work in my growing zone). Clearly, from the photo above, I was able to get them to work. However, I don’t think most beginners would be willing to do all the extra steps.
  2. Poppy Blooms are short lived. Last year I planted Thai, Shirley, California, and Icelandic poppies. No matter what variety it was, the blooms barely lasted.
  3. Poppies tend to Re-Seed themselves. This can be a great thing or a terrible thing. The poppies I planted from seed two years ago reseeded themselves and I was thrilled. However, you might not be so thrilled if you didn’t know that poppies would reseed and you didn’t want them there every year.
  4. Poppy stems aren’t that strong. Again, this isn’t the end of the world. But I find it really annoying when I want to put them in a bouquet with other flowers.

Lisianthus

The lisianthus flower is stunningly beautiful, much like a rose. However, it takes around 200 days to mature and requires very specific growing conditions. Again, I realize that this flower is not impossible to grow, and with a bit of research you can figure it out. But if you’re a beginner, it’s probably best to wait a few years before you tackle it.

P.S. This is the only picture in this post that isn’t of a flower grown by me in my garden.

See what’s possible and learn how I designed my small space backyard cut flower garden in this video. . .

Ready to grow your own beautiful cut flower garden, without the hassel?

I’ve taken all the guesswork out of creating a cut flower garden with my e-book, Cut Flowers Made Simple. It’s the perfect way for beginner and intermediate gardeners to start their own cut flower garden with or without seed starting.

Click on the picture to find out more or get your copy.

So what do you think? Any flower you think should be added to this list? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

2 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Flowers, Seed Starting Tagged: calendula, cutflowers, seed starting, snapdragons, strawflowers, sunflowers, zinnia

5 Easy Annual Flowers for Beginner Seed Savers

September 16, 2019

What’s the easiest way you can make a dent in your gardening budget?  Saving seeds!! It’s so easy to save seeds from cut flowers and other annual flowers that you can use next year.  While some seeds require a little more know-how than others to save, I’ve compiled some of the easiest flower seeds to save–even if you don’t know what you’re doing. Here’s my list of 5 easy annual flowers that are perfect for beginner seed savers.

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

11 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Flowers, Gardening Tagged: annuals, Autumn, calendula, easy, fall, Flowers, nasturtium, poppy, seed saving, sunflower, zinnia

DIY Wedding Flowers From Your Backyard

June 23, 2016

Weddings are expensive!  Save some money and get a creative friend to make your bouquets for your big day.  (You can use this tutorial.)  Here’s some inspiration to get you going.  All of these bouquets were make with flowers literally sourced from my or my mothers backyard.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, DIY, Flowers, Weddings Tagged: Bouquet, Bridal, Bride, Bridesmaid, delphinium, Dill, Flowers, lily, monks hood, peony, sedum, zinnia

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • 5 Easy Ways to Increase Pollination in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Bloom Times: What Cut Flowers Grow When in Zone 3
  • The Best Vegetables & Flowers to Start with Winter Sowing
  • 21 Cut Flowers to Grow in Part Shade
  • The Best Grow Lights for Seedlings (from Budget to Bougie)

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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I love seeing the world through this loving boy’ I love seeing the world through this loving boy’s eyes.  Honestly, I’ve been so sick that I wasn’t really in the mood to “do Valentines Day” but there was this sweet little voice going on about how excited he was for today and how much he loves his family and I just couldn’t resist.  So whether you’re on your own, part of a couple, or in the thick of life-with-littles craziness, Happy Valentines Day!

#valentinesday2020 #mylittlevalentine #boymomlife #lifewithlittles
How do you pass a cold -28 day? By planning your How do you pass a cold -28 day?  By planning your garden, of course!  Today in my stories I’ll be going through the steps I take to start planning everything out.  I’m curious, do you start planning now or wait until the last minute?

P.S.  want your own copy of this planner?  This is the newly updated paid version and it’s on sale by itself from now until Sunday for only $5.  If you’re from Canada, use the code CANADA to make $5 USD be closer to $5 CAD.  Head over to the link in my bio to get yours.

#gardenplanning #gardenplanner #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #organizedlife #organizedliving #wintergardening
Curious about growing lettuce indoors? My experim Curious about growing lettuce indoors?  My experiment is a success so far, although it’s still going to be awhile before I’m eating another salad off of them.

Okay, so maybe a little rant today.  I think sometimes in the gardening space we’re guilty of making things seem easier than they are.  Myself included.  This lettuce project is a case in point.

Was it easy?  Yes.  But will it provide me with endless salads all winter long? Nope.  Or at least not at this scale.  I’m going to estimate that I’d need at least 15 plants this size, especially since it’s winter and everything just grows slower.  And I’m the only person in my family who really eats salad.

In conclusion, this is a fun project to pass the winter, and not a truly sustainable source of lettuce.

Thoughts?

#growinglettuce #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #wintergardening #indoorgardening #plantproject #sustainablefood #gardenersofinstagram #gardenerslife #northerngardening
Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing ex Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing exactly what to start when.  Every two weeks, I'll be posting these handy guides so you have enough time to order your seeds and be ready to plant when it's time for your area.  To find out when these veggies, herbs, and flowers need to be started where you live. . . ⁠
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1. Search out your area's last frost date.  There are plenty of calculators on the Internet.⁠
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2. Count backwards 8 weeks from that date.⁠
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3. Start these seeds when that date hits.⁠
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If you follow me because we're in similar zones--don't panic, it's not time yet!! I won't be starting my 10 week seeds for another two weeks, and even that is slightly on the early side. (I'm starting everything a bit early so I can hopefully plant it out before baby gets here--I won't be physically able to do it after.) I like posting the info early for followers in warmer zones and so you can save it and still have time to order/buy seeds & supplies.⁠
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Which one of these are you most excited to start?⁠
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#seedstarting #seedlings #homegardener #northerngardener #homesteading #urbandhomesteading #homesteadingskills #gardenlife #gardenlifestyle #startingseeds
Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing the whole seed packet in hopes that a few of these little luffa babies will provide me with zero waste sponges that I can use for home cleaning, and as an exfoliant in home made beauty products.

The catch?

These plants are notoriously hard to grow, especially when you live somewhere cold with a really cold growing season—and if they get a hint of frost on them they turn to mush and all my hard work is ruined.

Gulp.

But gardeners are born optimists, so I’m giving it a shot—because you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

P.S. if you’re trying luffa in zone 3 like me, just basically ignore all the directions on the seed packet.  Start them immediately (two weeks ago would have been ideal) and follow along because I’ll show you exactly what to do and when.  I’ll be popping these under a grow light once the sun goes down.

#luffagourd #luffa #loofah #seedlings #seedstarting #northerngardening #northerngardener #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #mygardenthismonth #gardenlife #canadiangardening
This weekend I took a big leap of faith. I came t This weekend I took a big leap of faith.  I came to New York to meet with other content creators/business owners to dig deep into what we do and create a strategy around our messaging.  I don’t even know how to properly describe what all went down, but is was incredibly life changing and I really feel connected to this tribe of women who are committed to playing to win and being the people our businesses need us to be.  I’m so excited to share what I’ve planned for my business with you in the coming months.

#playtowin #gardenblogger #businessowner #wahmlife
Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant? I Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant?  I think the Sansevera or Snake Plant or Mother-in-law’s tongue comes close.  Sure, it might be the vanilla of the plant-loving world, but it is so good for so many situations!⁠
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It can handle you forgetting to water it, low light, or bright light.  It is somewhat forgiving if you are an over-waterer. ⁠
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I’ve had this one for 2 or 3 years now and I keep getting rewarded with more spikes.⁠
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Plant lovers, is there another houseplant you think would be perfect for beginners?⁠
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#crazyplantlady #houseplantsofig #houseplantsofinstagram #snakeplant #houseplantlove
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