Plants for Cut Flowers
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Pink Spirea, left, and shrub roses, right, are long lasting cut flowers and easy to grow. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)
“Charlotte I LOVE having fresh flowers in my house. I’m not a good gardener so I need some tips on what to plant. Any ideas?” — Sarah
Plants for Cut Flowers
Hi Sarah, gardening is easy if you remember to match the plants to the growing conditions you have.
If you don’t know your soil type, get a soil test through your local University Extension Office. Some Home and Garden centers also collect soil samples and send them off to the same soil lab for analysis. The soil test will tell you what plants will work best.
Another option is to determine native trees, shrubs and flowers. They’re already acclimated to your growing conditions. Purple Coneflowers, Black Eyed Susans and New England Asters are all native to North America and are pollinator favorites. They also make good cut flowers.
Also look for shrubs. Shrub roses are hardier than tea roses. Shrubs like Spirea have long lasting flowers that are excellent to fill out a bouquet.
Finally for the easiest annuals to grow, try Zinnias. These heat-loving flowers grow fast and are bright and cheery in flower vases.
