If you like to cut flowers from your garden, or would like to start, you will have a hard time finding plants that grow tall enough for the purpose. Starting from seed is your best bet for many of the best bouquets. While the number of plants mentioned adds up to a list that’s nowhere near inclusive, it consists of more than a dozen suggestions for cuts plus variety ideas and sowing information for six easy to grow plants.

When it comes to choosing annuals, shoppers want color, not potential. Annuals that bloom when they reach six to 12 inches are a lot more colorful in a pot than those that don’t flower until they’re three feet tall. It’s why, if you want long-stemmed flowers for cutting, you’ll have to start most of them from seed. There are occasional exceptions, of course.

According to Dan Woldhuis, Jr. of Sunrise Greenhouse in Grant Park, IL, there is little demand from their customers for long-stemmed annual flowers. “We grow some tall snapdragons (the Rocket series), ‘State Fair’ zinnias, and a tall Ageratum,” he said. “Other than that we offer more bedding-type annuals.”

Trying New Varieties

Carolyn Faught, owner of Omena Cut Flowers in Suttons Bay, MI starts many of her offerings from seed, especially since she likes to try several new varieties each year. She’s already started seed of frosted explosion grass, sun ball, Celosia, foxglove, cosmos, sunflowers and zinnias. She learned that frosted explosion grass (Panicum elegans) makes nice filler for bouquets. Sun ball (Craspedia), is a bright yellow one-inch ball on a stem that grows from two to three feet tall, lasts a long time in a vase and even works as a dried flower.

Faught is also trying Celosia ‘Chief Persimmon’, its name a great description for its big, bright cockscomb flowers. All of them, plus some foxglove, were started around 10 weeks before her last frost date, as they take the longest to develop a strong root system and reach the maturity needed to flower.

At the end of March Faught will start zinnias, which she will also direct seed in June, after the soil warms up. “Zinnias really need warmth and will rot in cold wet soil, so it’s best to wait until early June for direct seeding zinnias,” she said.

Cosmos will get a head start when Faught sows them in pots indoors on April 10, and she’ll start a batch of sunflowers on April 15. All three—Cosmos, sunflowers and Zinnia—are easy to grow by direct seeding. By sowing early and then again in June, Faught will be assured she will have a long season of these customer favorites.

Half a Dozen Annuals from Seed for Cut Flowers:

1. Amaranthus: Amaranth comes in many colors and flower forms, but the best for cutting offer long, chubby, fuzzy pipe cleaner-like flowers in a variety of shades. ‘Oeschburg’ features upright spikes of burgundy flowers, while ‘Green Cascade’ brings chartreuse tassels to the table. Amaranthus like the heat, and won’t germinate in cold soil. Sow outdoors in warm soil or start indoors three to four weeks before planting out.
2. Calendula officianalis (pot marigold): One of the earliest bloomers, Calendula grows in a wide range of gold through yellow-orange and everything in between. Some forms, like ‘Flashback’, have semi-double flowers, and grow from eight inches to two feet. Sow indoors four weeks before last frost for a first round and then sow outdoors when the soil warms up for later blooms, although Calendula is not a heat-lover.
3. Celosia: Whether you prefer the cockscomb or the plume-like blossoms, Celosia is great for cut flowers, as long as you choose the right varieties. They should be tall enough to cut, like ‘Dragon’s Breath’, which reaches 24 inches, or the Bombay or Cramer series, which can reach four feet tall. The seed of Celosia can be sown indoors four weeks prior to planting outside. Don’t rush planting them outdoors, as Celosia will sulk if the soil is too cold.
4. Phlox drummondii (annual Phlox): This U.S. native comes in colors not available in its perennial cousins. Shades of peach are offered in ‘Cherry Caramel’, while the heirloom variety, ‘Isabellina’ provides a soft yellow. The best varieties for cutting grow about 18 inches tall. Seeds can be sown outdoors in early spring, or indoors five to seven weeks before frost. Seed needs darkness to germinate.
5. Poppies: Whether you choose the Shirley, California, or the bread seed species, poppies make great albeit short-lived bouquets when cut just before the flower opens. A Shirley poppy mix (Papaver rhoeas) called Falling in Love contains a mixture of pinky-rosie colors that will keep you fascinated through mid-summer. Shirley poppies grow two to three feet tall and can last in a vase for two days. California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) ‘Dancing Ballerina’ is a mix of sherbet shades on 15-inch stems. Bread seed poppy (Papaver somniferum) is ‘Lauren’s Grape’, which can grow up to three feet tall. All grow best when direct sown outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked.
6. Marigolds (Tagetes): While some dislike the scent, there are varieties that don’t have that distinctive characteristic. Burpee’s developed a hybrid called ‘French Vanilla’ that grows 24 inches tall and can be started indoors four to six weeks before planting out. Alternatively, they can be planted in the ground, but not until all danger of frost is past.

This list is by no means inclusive. It’s a starter list of easy-to-grow cut flowers that anyone would be proud of growing—either from seed or as a plant if you can find them.

Helpful Books:

Annuals and Tender Plants for North American Gardens by Wayne Winterrowd

Flowers Are Almost Forever: The Care and Handling of Cut Flowers by Libbey Oliver

Park’s Success with Seeds by Ann Reilly

Specialty Cut Flowers (second edition) by Allan M. Armitage and Judy M. Laushman

Seed Sources:

Burpee one of the oldest seed companies offers a wide selection of seeds and plants.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds has a good selection of seeds, including hard-to-find bouquet fillers.

Renee’s Garden Seeds has more poppies than Dorothy and her friends outside of Oz.

Select Seeds offers both seeds and plants of unusual and heirloom flowers

Swallowtail Garden one of the best selections of Calendulas and Zinnias