Best Flowers for Cut Flowers

TillinWithMyPeeps

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I am thinking about maybe trying to sell nice, small bouquets of cut flowers at the local farmer's market come this summer. I may or may not try to look further into that, but, I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for flowers that look good in cut flower arrangements.

I would prefer that they be annual and attractive, other than that, I am open for suggestions. If they were fragrant, that would be a bonus.

So far I am thinking about maybe decorative sunflowers?

Do you have any ideas?
 

Catalina

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zinnas, bachelor buttons, stocks (they smell amazing!), cosmos, celosia, asters, gaillardia, larkspur, rudbeckia, salvia, snapdragons, statice.

My parents had a nursery and flower shop when I was growing up. I spent a lot of summers selling flowers at farmer's markets too. It's a tough job sometimes.
Good luck!
 

digitS'

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I would like to offer an "I'll second that" to what Catalina said about variety choices and her comment that "It's a tough job sometimes."

After I gather my legs under me (been a tiring day :p) I'll talk a little more about growing "cuts." For the moment, here is a photo of my annual cutting garden during a past season. There are a few things absent - notably, dahlias.

I grow asters, snaps, zinnias here - other things elsewhere:

Hartson001-1.jpg
 

TillinWithMyPeeps

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Thanks, any advice is appreciated.

Also, thanks fore the flower suggestions, I will have to look into them.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?
 

digitS'

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I'm not an "anyone else" but I'm just getting back to complete my thought :rolleyes:.

Dahlias make up an important part of the late season - there are over 300 of them. The annuals fill the Summer months fairly well. The perennials and biennial kick in first.

Soon, we will have shasta daisies, sweet williams, canterbury bells, and painted daisies. Peony buds are already swelling and there will be glads, lilies, echinop thistles, delphiniums, gallardia, and rudbeckia, etc.

And yes, Andy, I grow rows of sunflowers in my vegetable garden. Those destined for bouquets are sprayed to kill the darn thrips after they are cut so that I don't have the spray falling back in my face in the garden.

There are bugs to deal with and all sorts of other problems that may not do any more than "cosmetic" damage to your crop of flowers. But, with bouquet flowers - their cosmetic value is their only measure of worth.

Steve

edited: Here's an idea you may want to act on, plant your ornamental sunflower seed and a few hundred square feet of gladiolas. That would be a fairly easy start to the enterprise and these large flowers have value without the addition of more varieties and filler. They should also give you a fairly steady supply.
 

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