Annual Cut Flowers Information

Garden Bed Preparation

• Annual flowers need rich, well-drained garden soil in a sunny location to grow well and produce the most flowers. It's important to add organic matter to the soil where flowers are planted. Organic matter loosens up heavy soils and bulks up and enriches thin, poor soils to better support plants and plant growth. Compost, aged manure, chopped straw, shredded newspaper and fish and bone meal are all good materials to add to garden soil when preparing beds for planting.

Sowing Seeds

• Annual flowers are easy to grow from seeds. Most seeds for annuals sprout easily if planted in the garden when the soil has warmed up in the spring. Seeds can be broadcast in the garden bed and covered with soil or planted in trenches filled with a light germination mix. Some tiny seeds need light to germinate and must be sprinkled on the surface of the soil and not covered, such as sweet alyssum and snap dragons. Gardeners can also plant annual flower seeds indoors a month or so before they plant them in the garden.

Tending

• Tending annual flowering plants in the garden involves thinning newly sprouted seedling for proper spacing, removing weeds and regular watering, as well as applying light mulch at the base of plants. If seedlings grow leggy, especially plants started indoors, pinching the tops encourages bushy growth. Light fertilizer weekly in spring and summer supports plant growth and flower formation. Clipping off dead or spent flower heads encourages continuous bud formation.

Annual Flowers to Grow for Cutting

• Annual flowers to grow for cutting are tall varieties that reach 2 or 3 feet. Calendula, cosmos, zinnia, snap dragons, four o'clocks and spider flowers are just a few annual flowers to cut for mixed bouquets. Sunflowers are available in different size blooms in a variety of colors that work well in large floor vases and large bouquets. Plant a variety of different flowers or one kind of flower en mass for cutting all summer long.