Best Perennials for Cut Flowers

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In addition to its hardiness, Yarrow provides lots of flowers for cutting.

Long Lasting Color and Easy to Grow Perennials

This is a favorite topic of many of our customers and before we list the perennials that fit this category lets review a few gardening ideas and garden maintenance practices that encourage perennials to flower longer.

•Most perennials used for cut flowers need full sun, so choose a site that receives generous sun.

•Prepare the soil so it drains well, which may mean the addition of compost, peat or chopped leaves to improve drainage.

•Mix a granular, slow-acting fertilizer into the soil at the beginning of the season. This will provide consistent and balanced nutrition to the plants over a number of weeks. Periodic doses of diluted liquid fertilizer sprayed on plant foliage can boost the flowering capacity of heavy blooming plants.

•Plant perennials that will bloom at different times, thus extending your options for cut flowers.

•Deadhead your perennials as well as your annuals to maximize their flower production.

•Don't forget to consider planting perennials and annuals for their foliage. They will complement cut flower arrangements. Plants such as silver leafed artemisia, lamb's ear, coleus, euphorbia, flowering kale, sages and herbs like lavender and Rosemary add color and texture to arrangements.

•Last, if you are really serious about having a cutting garden, you might want to plant an additional garden just for plants that will be used in arrangements. Thus cutting your perennials from a cutting garden will not reduce the floral show in your other gardens.

We haven't included roses or hydrangeas or other flowers that come from shrubs in our list. They would make excellent additions to any arrangements. Below are perennial plants that are terrific for a cutting garden.

Achillea (Yarrow)
Asters
Carnations
Chrysanthemums (Shasta Daisy)
Coreopsis
Chinese Lanterns
Delphimium
Digitalis (Foxgloves)
Echinacea (Coneflower)
Gypsophila (Baby's Breath)
Gaillardia
Heliopsis
Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker)
Lavender
Lupine
Phlox
Peonies
Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susans)
Veronica