7 Lessons I Learned From Growing a Cut Flower Patch

Are you interested in growing a cut flower patch? Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Here are 7 lessons I learned from growing a cut flower garden this year.

Although I’m an experienced gardener, cut flower gardening is a new venture for me.

Through the years, I’ve grown and maintained low-maintenance, easy-care flowers that I kept in the flower beds instead of bringing indoors.

Sure I could have cut more and brought them inside.

But I enjoy seeing them in my borders and with some plants, cutting more doesn’t necessarily yield more flowers.

Over the last year, I’ve wanted to bring more of my garden inside, so I was inspired to grow a cut flower patch.

With cut flower gardens, the more you cut the more blooms you’ll have.

It started with trying out dahlias last year.

And I was hooked!

Because I enjoyed them so much both indoors and out, I decided to start seeds indoors and grow a cut flower garden from seed.

As a cut flower garden newbie, there are few things learned that I will apply next year to organize myself and the garden a little better.

From seed starting through harvesting flowers, here’s what I learned from cut flower gardening.

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7 Lessons I Learned From Growing a Cut Flower Patch from Seed

To piggyback from these lessons when I started this garden from seed, I’ve learned so much from growing my cutting garden this summer.

While easy to do, it is a little more work than caring for a low-maintenance perennial garden.

And this is what I would do differently next year.

1. Take Lots of Notes

For starters, I would journal with a book like this more or take notes during the growing season.

It’s one of those things that I have every intention of doing but get busy as well as lazy and tell myself, I’ll remember.

But don’t.

So do yourself a favor and write it all down!

It will make it so much easier to remember next year and the garden will be that much better.

2. Save Seeds You Don’t Use

Since I’ve never started seeds indoors on this grand scale before, I would sow a little less and save a little more seeds for the future.

Some seed packets have more seeds than my 72-cell tray allowed and I sowed all of them in additional trays.

It wasn’t necessary to do that. Looking back, I’d rather save the extras for the next season.

Oh and I also purchased way more seeds than I could actually grow too.

In fact, I have a few seed packets I didn’t even open!

So set up a location where you will save and store seeds for the following season. For storage, they will need a cool, dry place. I keep mine in a card catalog in our small home library.

3. Plan the Flower Patch Garden

When I purchased all of my seeds, my eyes were a lot bigger than my gardens.

I knew I was overhauling the garden shed border. But I wasn’t sure how I’d lay it all out or what it would look like.

I had a vague idea but decided to wing it.

Now that my backyard vision has come to life, I will plan things out much differently next year.

For starters, I would do a patch of sunflowers instead of trying to make a border.

The border didn’t all grow and it looks a little odd. The small sunflower patch I planted did better and I love the look, so I’ll do that again next year.

Because I had some issues with several groundhogs this year, all of my dahlias will be planted inside the picket fence and have their own quad.

I’d move my zinnias to the back of the garden. And plant my snapdragons and larkspur towards the front.

Not to mention, I would stake those better. (More on that next.)

4. Stake Plants Early in the Flower Patch Garden

Start staking plants when they are small and first put them in the ground. It’s much easier to do at that time.

And before you know it, those plants will grow big and need it.

If you stake too late, plants will fall over onto each other and will be tough to recover. Other plants like snapdragons and gladiolas won’t grow upright if not staked early enough.

So read up on what plants you are growing and if they require staking, do it while the plants are young.

5. Stake Plants Well

In addition to staking early, it’s SO IMPORTANT to stake them well.

I made the mistake of trying a few things to see if they’d work and…they didn’t.

Because we spent so much energy on creating the new vegetable garden and shed gardens, I had less energy to put into this part of the flower patch.

I got a little lazy and did some green garden stakes around each of the quads and then used twine to help hold up the sections.

This worked for a little while but as the flowers grew, the blooms got REALLY HEAVY and pulled them down.

So next year, I’ll be using a GRID TRELLIS LIKE THIS for some of the flowers and drive stakes into the ground.

I’ve seen my friend Kim from Shiplap and Shells do it in her cut flower gardens, and I should have done the same.

Lesson learned.

I also recommend THESE plant supports too and use them on my peonies, dahlias, and other flowers.

6. Always Follow the Seed Packet Directions

Whether you are growing flowers, herbs, or vegetables, follow the directions.

The grower knows their plants better than we do. They know more than what a google search will tell you. And they have the experience of what works best for that seed variety.

So follow ALL of the directions for sowing, spacing, and growing!

If the seed packet says space them 9″ apart.

Do it.

For the most part, I followed all the directions.

Because I had so many seedlings with nowhere to put them, some that required full sun were grown in part sun.

As a result, there was a significant growth and bloom difference.

They still grew and bloomed, but not at the same vigorous rate as the others planted in the proper location.

If a seed packet says full sun, that plant needs at least 6-8 hours of sun.

7. Label ALL Your Plants

I labeled my seed starts for the flower patch with a few labels in each tray.

And I thought it was plenty. But it was not nearly enough.

Looking back, I should have labeled each cell or at least close to them all.

Why?

I know it sounds like overkill.

But if you do what I did and grow so many flowers you don’t know what to do with them all, you’ll wind up throwing them in anywhere.

And guess what?

In some spots, I’m not sure what I planted because I didn’t write it all down.

There was just too many and it would have taken me too long to do it.

So I wish I had a few more labels to drop in the ground when I randomly threw them in around the other flower gardens.

Oh and while we’re on the subject of labels, be sure to put the labels in the ground where you’ll see them when the plant grows.

I planted several dahlias with tags near the base of the plant and I can’t see them at all to know which variety it is.

Can You Grow a Cut Flower Garden in Containers?

Yes!

If you lack garden space and wish to grow a cut flower garden in containers, it is possible to do.

If you decide to grow a cut flower patch in containers, use large planters.

Make sure you site them in full sun.

And thin out the seedlings by following the recommendations on the seed packet for spacing guidelines.

More About Lessons Learned

Did you learn anything in your garden this year that you would do differently next year? I would love to know more in the comments below.

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Garden Supplies I Use

I’m often asked about the garden supplies and tools that I use most. From pruners to deer repellents, here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

• I like to use a good-quality garden soil, compost, and perlite when planting.
• I have used this deer repellent with great success. But now, I’m all about this deer repellent that is systemic instead of topical. This means the plant takes it in as opposed to it just smelling bad.
• Hands down this is my favorite hand-weeding tool. You can use to get underneath roots, loosen soil, and it cuts down on the weeding time because you work much faster.
• But I also love this long, stand-up weeding tool to really get around roses from afar.
• I like to use THIS ORGANIC FERTILIZER for roses because the blooms are more prolific and it’s organic.
• You’ll need a sharp set of pruners when working with plants and flowers. I buy a few so I can stash them around.
• Where pest and disease problems are concerned, I generally use this insecticidal soap or neem oil to help control infestations depending on the issue.
• This is my favorite set-and-forget slow-release fertilizer for houseplants, annuals, and container gardens.
• Whenever I stake my peonies or other plants, I generally use these grow through garden supports because they work really well and keep the blooms upright.

To Learn How to Start a Garden From Seed, Check Out These Posts

• Overview of How to Start Seeds Indoors
• Supplies Needed to Start Seeds Indoors
• 7 Simple Tips to Getting Organized Before Starting Seeds Indoors
• Everything You Need to Know About Sowing Seeds Indoors
• 7 Lessons I Learned From Starting Seeds Indoors
• What You Need to Know About Hardening Off Plants
• How to Plant a Garden After Starting Seeds Indoors
• 7 Lessons I Learned From Growing a Cut Flower Garden (you are here)
• How to Keep Fresh Flowers Longer
• Cut Flower Gardening for Beginners

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