ALEXANDRIA
— If you’ve ever brought home a bouquet and thought, I wish I could grow this, you can. A cutting garden is simply a garden filled with flowers meant to be picked, shared, and enjoyed indoors. Many of the best cut flowers are easy to grow from seed, making this an ideal winter planning project for gardeners.
Selecting seeds for cut flowers
Not every flower is well suited for cutting, so seed selection matters. Look for tall varieties with long, sturdy stems, and avoid compact or dwarf forms unless they’re specifically bred for cutting. Many seed companies make this easier by offering a “cut flower” category in their catalogs.
Descriptions often highlight traits such as stem length, vase life, productivity, and suitability for bouquets. These notes are helpful cues that a variety was selected with harvesting in mind. When in doubt, read variety descriptions carefully and prioritize plants known for repeat blooming and strong stems.
Snapdragons and stock (Matthiola) thrive in cool weather and benefit from an early indoor start, about eight to 10 weeks before the last frost. Snapdragons add height and structure to arrangements, while stock is prized for its spicy, unforgettable fragrance. Although stock does not rebloom, it earns its space with early, romantic bouquets.
Bachelor’s buttons are wonderfully flexible. They can be direct seeded very early outdoors or started indoors four to six weeks before planting out. Indoor starts bloom sooner, while direct-seeded plants help extend the season. Both approaches produce relaxed, garden-fresh bouquets.
Once frost danger has passed, sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, and gomphrena take center stage. These flowers can be direct seeded into warm soil or started indoors three to four weeks early for a jump on blooms. Many gardeners use a mix of both methods.
Choose branching sunflowers for cutting, one plant can produce dozens of blooms. Zinnias are summer workhorses that bloom nonstop when they are cut often. Cosmos adds airy movement to arrangements, while gomphrena thrives in heat and drought and performs beautifully in both fresh and dried bouquets.
You don’t need fancy equipment to start flowers successfully. Use a seed-starting mix for good drainage and healthy roots. Once seedlings develop true leaves, begin light feeding with diluted fertilizer.
Provide bright light to prevent leggy growth. 5000K shop lights positioned just a few inches above seedlings work very well. Before planting outdoors, harden seedlings off gradually by exposing them to sun and wind over several days.
In the garden, give flowers full sun, avoid over-fertilizing, and cut often. Most cut flowers respond to harvesting with more blooms, not fewer. For more seed-starting guidance, visit the University of Minnesota Extension’s website at
extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/starting-seeds-indoors.
For a comprehensive seed-starting database, go to
tomclothier.hort.net.
A cutting garden doesn’t have to be large to be generous. With a handful of seeds and a little planning, this is truly where bouquets begin, one stem at a time. Until next time, happy gardening!
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful” — Luther Burbank
Robin Trott is a horticulture educator with University of Minnesota Extension. Contact her at 320-762-3890, or at trot0053@umn.
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