Here’s how to get started on a cutting garden
I have never received a gift of flowers that did not make me smile. Be it a big florist’s bouquet or a tiny nosegay stuck in a well-used old vase left on the doorstep by a friend, being remembered with flowers makes the day brighter.
If you’ve always wanted to be the friend that leaves remembrances, or you just want to fill a well-used vase with flowers for yourself, this is a wonderful month to start a cutting garden.
Generally speaking, the term “cutting garden” describes a space used specifically for growing flowers for arrangements. It’s planned so that there are always flowers to harvest, and is planted separately from your outdoor mixed border that is meant to beautify your yard.
Since few of us have the space or the hours to maintain a separate garden, we find it easier — and just as rewarding — to fill our borders, garden pots and even vegetable gardens with flowering plants destined to fill vases.
Which flowers are candidates for cutting? First, flowers with a good vase life — the amount of time a flower keeps its good looks in a vase. Though we often think first of roses, many don’t hold up after cutting, including some old garden roses. Frequently the information plants arrive with includes its appropriateness for cutting.
Consider, too, stem length. Even though we all love zinnias, some shorter varieties are better used as bedding plants than in a vase.
Selecting what to include in the garden for cutting follows the same rules as every other plant. Most flowering plants require full sun which means 6 hours or more of uninterrupted sunshine. Few plants like to sit with muddy roots and will want well-draining soil. Since some plants like more irrigation than others, group the water hogs together and the drought-tolerant ones in a different site. As always, a nearby water source will save carrying watering cans around the garden.
When it comes to what to plant for the upcoming hot and humid season, look to UF’s “Florida Gardening Calendar” for tips for each of Florida’s gardening regions. Or contact the Duval Extension Office to sign up for your bi-monthly copy of “A New Leaf ” newsletter that always provides the month’s to-do and toplant lists.
The selection process can be overwhelming. Natives or non-natives? Annuals or perennials? Blooms or foliage? Why not all the above?
And why not plant something that works well in the garden as well as the vase?
For instance, salvias are perfect for cutting and also for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. There are hundreds
of annual and perennial species in an array of colors and sizes. Many perennials grow quite large and fill the border with interest for most of the year.
Tall, festive zinnias are very easy to grow from seed planted straight into the garden. There are many choices in flower styles, colors, shapes, and sizes. Some will flower continuously from summer to frost. (The aforementioned “A New Leaf” recommends adding zinnias in April.)
Cut your zinnia blossoms regularly and you’ll encourage the plant to flower again. They are the perfect example of a cut-and-come-again plant.
Zinnias are also one of the best annuals for attracting pollinators, especially butterflies. That makes them a boon to the vegetable garden as well as the border. Don’t forget the power of beautiful foliage in an arrangement. A simple blossom paired with a stunning caladium leaf works beautifully in a vase. The vibrant colors of either the fancy-leafed (large heart-shaped) or the lance-leafed (narrow, elongated leaves) will add unexpected interest to an arrangement.
Many gardeners leave the caladium corms (thick, rounded, tuber-like roots) in the ground year-round. If planting them in your yard this month, choose a site with sun-dappled shade and moist soil under a canopy of tree branches.
For more ideas about good selections for cutting, check out the UF publications, “Cut Flower Gardens” https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/design/ types-of-gardens/cut-flower-garden.html and “Planting a Cutting Garden” https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/polkco/2018/05/07/planting-a-cuttinggarden/ .
The last step to having long-lasting cut flowers is handling them properly when you harvest. Cut them after the morning dew is dried but before the heat of the day sets in. Immediately place them into clean water.
Before arranging them in their final container, remove any leaves and blossoms that will end up underwater. Recut the stems with a diagonal cut about half to an inch from the bottom. This ensures there’ll be fresh tissue to take up water.
Many growers, florists and some universities recommend using a floral preservative in the arrangement’s water. Often flower bundles are sold with a small white packet of this preservative. This product provides a little carbohydrate (sugar) to help unopened buds open along with bactericides which will help to keep the water clear.
There are many DIY recipes to make your own floral preservative, but none work as well as the commercial product. Be sure to mix it as directed on the package and don’t be tempted to try to stretch it. These packets contain just enough carbohydrates to feed the bacteria but not enough bactericide to control the bacteria’s growth.
When the water in the vase turns yellow and cloudy, empty and wash the vase. Add fresh water with more preservatives. Rinse and recut the stems before putting them back in the vase.
All this is only a sample meant to get the reader excited about a fresh topic. In the process, however, perhaps you’ll think about the pleasure you have or may give with a simple handful of flowers from your garden in a dusty old wellused vase.
Paula Weatherby is a Master Gardener Volunteer with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS. For gardening questions, call the Duval County Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and ask for a Master Gardener Volunteer.