3 Easy, Reliable & Productive Cut Flowers
- Beautiful
- Productive
- Fast growing
- Fairly low-maintenance
- Simple to harvest
These traits matter to every grower because they raise the odds of success, for a beginner trying cut flowers for the first time and for an experienced grower who needs plenty of trouble-free stems. The three flowers below are the ones we'd point anyone toward first, because they perform reliably season after season at any skill level.
We think of them as "tier-one" flowers because they:
- Look great in the bed and in the arrangement
- Bloom prolifically
- Need relatively little fuss, and
- Start blooming without a long summer wait.
1 • Best Sunflowers For Cutting
Sunflowers lead the list: they sprout in less than two weeks, reach harvest in just a few months, and reliably turn out cheerful flowers that everyone likes.
There are dwarf and perennial types too, but here we'll stick with the two groups that work best for cutting: single-stem and branching sunflowers.
Single-Stem Sunflowers
For quality and dependability, single-stem sunflowers are hard to beat. Each seed gives one strong, top-quality stem, and that's it. They're easy to grow, quick to mature, and fast to harvest: cut the stem at the length you want, pull off a few leaves, and you're done, with no searching through foliage for side shoots.
Single-stem types come in many forms and colors. Classic gold petals around a dark center suit bright or earthy midsummer and fall bouquets, while green centers or pale lemon petals give a fresher look for late spring and early summer. The ProCut Series is popular for its speed, broad color range and full, well-shaped flowers.
Branching Sunflowers
Single-stem sunflowers win on speed, but branching sunflowers have two strengths of their own.
- Each plant gives several flowers.
- One sowing can be cut over an extra two to three weeks.
That's handy if you can't predict exactly when you'll need flowers, or prefer to pick a little at a time over a longer stretch.
Branching kinds also offer a wider mix of colors, forms and bloom sizes.
Their stems are thinner than those of single-stem types, though, so handle them with a little more care at harvest and in the bucket.
Succession-Planting Sunflowers
Sunflowers are well suited to succession planting, which is another big plus. There are two main ways to keep the harvest going:
- sow several varieties with different days to maturity, and/or
- sow again at intervals through the season
Since sunflowers, single-stem kinds in particular, mature quickly, you can use either approach or both together for steady blooms from summer into fall.
Additional Key Attributes
- Bloom period: early summer into early fall
- When to cut: as the petals start lifting away from the center disk, or once they stand at a right angle to it
- Role in arrangements: focal flower
- Vase life: about 7–10 days
More About Sunflowers
2 • Zinnias—Workhorse of (Many) a Different Color
For reliable cut flowers that ask little of you, think zinnias. They need only sun and decent soil, and they come in nearly every color except blue, so there's a zinnia to suit almost any arrangement, rustic or formal.
Color
Zinnia colors cover an enormous range, from the vivid, saturated Benary's Giant Series to the soft, muted shades of 'Creamy Yellow', 'Oklahoma Salmon', and 'Queen Red Lime'. There are plenty of strong performers to choose from, whether you grow flowers for income or for fun.
Size & Shape
Zinnias also vary widely in size and form. The big 4–6" dahlia-flowered and cactus-flowered types are best known, filling out bunches quickly with their showy heads. At the small end, dwarf zinnias bloom heavily and add bright spots of color. Small-flowered and pompom types with 1–2½" blooms, like 'Sunbow' and the Oklahoma Series, tend to hold up better, with strong stems and tight heads, and both come in multicolor mixes.
Disease Prevention
Zinnias can get powdery mildew and Alternaria leaf spot. Harvesting often and clearing away faded flowers and old leaves reduces the conditions these fungi favor and keeps plants vigorous.
Succession Planting Zinnias
Zinnias keep flowering all season as long as you keep cutting. Plants do wear out eventually, though, and flower quality and numbers drop. For top-quality stems all season, follow the first planting with two or three more sowings spaced a couple of weeks apart; how many you can fit in depends on your climate and your needs.
Additional Key Attributes
- Bloom period: early summer into early fall
- When to cut: once the flower is fully filled out and pollen starts to appear
- Role in arrangements: large flowers as focal points, small ones as accents
- Vase life: about 7–10 days
More About Zinnias
3 • Rudbeckia: The Sleeper Flower
Rudbeckia bloom as heavily as zinnias and are cousins of both zinnias and sunflowers in the Asteraceae family (see Big Happy Family). Instead of facing forward like sunflower petals, rudbeckia petals sweep down and back from the center, leaving the button-shaped disk on top. That shape makes them very easy to work into bouquets, which is why they made our list.
They take longer to mature than sunflowers or zinnias, but most of that time is spent as seedlings. From transplants they begin flowering by around July even in northern growing areas, ahead of many other cut flowers.
Color
Most people know rudbeckia as Black-Eyed Susan, its best-known group, but centers can also be green, brown or somewhere between. Petal colors are warm and striking, from chocolate and cherry red to copper and gold. Brighter types, with pale yellow petals and green centers, have a fresh look, such as the All-America Selections winner 'Prairie Sun'.
Rudbeckia hirta
Technically a short-lived perennial, this species is usually grown as an annual for cutting because first-year plants are more reliable in most areas. It branches well on its own, so there's no need to pinch the growing tip. Rudbeckia hirta is prone to powdery mildew. Keep harvesting and remove old flowers and leaves to help plants stay healthy and productive.
Arrangement Tip: Blooms (Rudbeckia hirta) with damaged petals are still useful: pull off the petals to expose the green calyx around the button center and use them as a textural accent.
The term composite describes their flower head, or inflorescence: a central disk of many tiny, tightly packed disc florets, ringed by petal-like ray florets.
It is one of the largest and most widespread plant families on earth.
With more than 20,000 species, the family shows a huge range of flower-head forms.
Not all of them are easy, but as a group they adapt well and tend to be more forgiving than many other flowers.
Rudbeckia triloba
This species is a tall, branching, productive perennial bearing sprays of many small, button-like flowers on thin but strong stems that are easy to cut. It blooms in late summer and early fall, and Rudbeckia triloba brightens autumn arrangements. It is generally much less troubled by powdery mildew than Rudbeckia triloba, though no rudbeckia is completely immune.
Additional Key Attributes
- Bloom period: early summer into early fall
- When to cut: just before the flowers open fully
- Role in arrangements: large flowers as focal points, small ones (R. triloba) as accents or filler
- Vase life: about 8–10 days
More About Rudbeckia
Learn More
These three are just a starting point among dependable cut flowers. We picked them for reliability, productivity, good looks and easy care. There are many more options to suit your needs; list the qualities you care about most, or simply start with ours.
A few more resources for planning an easy cut-flower garden this season:
- If you're new and eager to dive in, take a look at our Easy Cut-Flower Garden Set. Buy the pieces separately or together; as a group they give a good mix of stems across the season. It comes with a Garden Planner and Garden Map, a useful starting framework.
- Market growers adding flowers can start by scaling up these three crops and then mixing in more of the easy-to-grow choices below.
- Browse our complete range of Easy-Choice Cut Flowers.
