In this guide
Quick answer
Pick 6 to 10 easy annuals (zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, cornflowers, calendula, painted daisies), sow most of them straight into the garden after your last frost, and cut flowers often. The more you cut, the more most of these plants bloom. A 4 x 8 foot bed is enough for a vase of flowers every week from midsummer to frost.
A cut flower garden is different from a flower border. You're growing for stems, not for a tidy look, so you plant in rows or blocks, you choose varieties with long stems, and you harvest constantly. That makes it one of the easiest gardens to grow from seed.
The easiest cut flowers to grow from seed
These are forgiving, fast, and bloom the first summer from a spring sowing.
| Flower | Sow | Days to bloom (approx.) | Why grow it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zinnia | Outdoors after last frost | 60-70 | The workhorse. Cut-and-come-again all summer. |
| Cosmos | Outdoors after last frost | 60-75 | Airy, tall stems; blooms harder the more you cut. |
| Sunflower | Outdoors after last frost | 70-90 | One big stem per plant; sow every 2-3 weeks. |
| Cornflower (bachelor's button) | Outdoors 2-4 weeks before last frost | 60-70 | Cold-hardy, true blue, great in mixed bunches. |
| Calendula | Outdoors around last frost | 50-60 | Orange and yellow, handles cool weather. |
| Painted daisy | Outdoors around last frost, or indoors 6 weeks early | 70-80 | Bright banded petals, good vase life. |
| Annual baby's breath | Outdoors around last frost, every 2-3 weeks | 45-60 | Filler for every bouquet. Short-lived, so sow in waves. |
| Annual phlox | Outdoors around last frost | 60-70 | Sweet clusters for small vases. |
Add one or two "next year" flowers if you have room: shasta daisy, black-eyed Susan and bergamot are perennials (or short-lived perennials) that usually bloom best from their second summer.
When to sow
Everything on this site is timed from your last spring frost date. Look it up by ZIP code with your local extension office or any frost-date tool, then count from there.
- 2-4 weeks before last frost: cornflowers, and calendula if your spring is mild. These handle light frost.
- Around last frost: calendula, painted daisy, phlox, baby's breath.
- 1-2 weeks after last frost, once soil feels warm: zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers.
- Every 2-3 weeks until midsummer: another short row of sunflowers and baby's breath. They bloom in a burst and finish, so waves keep the vase full.
You don't need to start cut flowers indoors. If you want earlier blooms, start zinnias and cosmos indoors 4 weeks before last frost, no earlier. Bigger transplants that sat too long in small pots often stall.
How much space you need
A 4 x 8 foot bed holds about:
- 1 row of sunflowers along the north side so they don't shade the rest
- 2 short rows of zinnias (9-12 inches apart)
- 1 row of cosmos (12 inches apart; they get tall and bushy)
- 1 row split between cornflowers and calendula
- A corner of baby's breath
Give the bed at least 6 hours of direct sun. Cut flowers bloom less and get floppy in shade.
Sowing outdoors, step by step
- Loosen the soil 6-8 inches deep and rake out clods. Mix in an inch of compost if the soil is poor. Skip heavy fertilizer: too much nitrogen gives leaves instead of flowers.
- Make a shallow furrow. A good rule is to plant a seed about twice as deep as it is wide. Zinnias and sunflowers go about 1/4 to 1 inch deep; tiny seeds like baby's breath go barely 1/8 inch.
- Sow 2-3 seeds every few inches, cover lightly, and press the soil down with your hand.
- Keep the top inch of soil damp until seedlings come up, usually 5-14 days. A light sprinkle every day beats a heavy soak every few days.
- Thin to the final spacing once seedlings have 2 sets of true leaves. It feels wasteful, but crowded plants make short, weak stems.
- Push in a plant marker for each row. Seedlings look alike for the first couple of weeks.
Pinch for more stems
When zinnias and cosmos are about 8-12 inches tall, snip off the top 3-4 inches just above a pair of leaves. The plant branches out and you get many long stems instead of one short one. Don't pinch single-stem sunflowers.
How to cut so they keep blooming
- Cut in the cool of the morning and put stems straight into a bucket of water.
- Cut long, just above a leaf pair, deep into the plant. That's where the next stems grow from.
- Pick zinnias when the stem below the flower is stiff. Hold it 8 inches down and shake gently: if the head flops, wait a few days.
- Pick cosmos and cornflowers just as the first petals open.
- Remove spent flowers you missed. A plant that sets seed slows down.
Common beginner problems
- Seedlings fell over at the soil line: damping off, usually from cold, wet soil. Sow after the soil warms and water less often.
- Tall but few flowers: too much shade or too much fertilizer.
- Powdery white leaves on zinnias in late summer: powdery mildew. Give plants more space, water the soil instead of the leaves, and keep cutting. It rarely stops blooming.
Not sure which flowers to start early? The indoor vs. direct-sow chart covers all 35 flowers in the kit. Many cut flowers also feed bees and butterflies, so a cutting bed can double as a pollinator garden.
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow a cut flower garden in pots? Yes, with compact varieties. Thumbelina zinnias, dwarf cornflowers, calendula, French marigolds and phlox all do well in 12-inch or larger pots. Tall cosmos and sunflowers are better in the ground.
Do I need to start seeds indoors? No. Every flower in the table above can be sown straight into the garden. Starting indoors only gets you blooms a few weeks sooner.
Can I save seed from my cut flowers? From open-pollinated (non-hybrid) varieties, yes. Leave a few of the best flowers uncut at the end of summer, let them dry on the plant, then store the seed somewhere cool, dark and dry. Different varieties of the same flower can cross, so saved seed may not match the parent exactly.
How long do cut zinnias and cosmos last in a vase? About a week for zinnias, 5-7 days for cosmos. Change the water every day or two and recut the stems.
