hits and misses in the cutting garden

15 years ago

This summer I decided to put an annual cutting garden in what used to be my vegetable patch. Here are my reviews of the flowers I tried. Maybe you have some hits & misses to share too?

raging success:

zinnia 'cut & come again mix'; branching, long-lasting blooms

snapdragon 'tall rocket mix'; nonstop supply

bells of ireland; these are so neat

rudbeckia 'autumn colors'; I've never gone wrong with beckies

so-so:

heliotrope 'marine'; pretty & aromatic, but droops in the vase after 1 day; it would do better in the border

calendula 'touch of red'; small flowers, getting some powdery mildew now; not impressed with my first attempt at these

So did you WS any flowers for cutting? How did they turn out?

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Comments (9)

sophiarose
15 years ago
These were my best WS cuts:
Bupleurum "Gold Green"
Ammi- Visnaga
Snaps- Axiom Series
Snaps- Royal Bride
Gomphrena- Strawberry Fields
Snow on the mountain- Euphorbia
Madame Butterfly Snapdragon
Cephalaphora
Artemisia- Sweet Annie
Uproar Rose Zinnia
Green Envy Zinnia
Dahlias

These were not WS, but I were some of my best cuts this year:
Celosia Flamingo Feather Purple
Lisianthus 'Mariachi Blue'
Lisianthus 'Echo White'
Lisianthus 'Echo Blue'
Oriental lily 'Bernini'
Oriental lily 'Casa Blanca'
(The lily bulbs were a January birthday gift from my sweet husband, he bought them wholesale from Ednies... 100 of the Casa's 25 of the Bernini's. They put on an incredible show in late July and early August. I told him they were the best birthday present EVER!)

My 13 year old son WS'd these perennials as a 4-H project, I look forward to getting some nice cuts next year from this group next year:

Eupatorium- Joe Pye Weed
Lupine Russell's Prize Mix
Shasta Daisy-Alaska
Campanula medium-Canterbury bells
Malva-Zebrina
Rudbeckia-Irish Eyes
Monarda- Bee Balm
Gallardia-Burgundy
Gallardia-Aristata
Echinacea-Coneflower-White Swan
Catanache-Cupid's Dart
Liatris-Gayfeather
Echinacea-Coneflower-Amado
Echinacea-Coneflower-Ruby Star
Chrysanthemum-Crazy Daisy
Veronica-Speedwell-Sightseeing Mix
Coreopsis-Early Sunrise
Salvia- Blue Sage
Echinacea- Pink Parasol
Rudbeckia Hirta
Verbascum
Cephalaphora
Balloon Flower
Echinacea- Purple Cone Flower

These were his duds:
Achillea- Yarrow- Summer Pastels
Butterfly Bush Buddleia
Delphinium-Pacific Giants
Digitalis-Foxglove-Mix
motria
Original Author
15 years ago
Oooh.. neat. Thanks, sophiarose. I had to look up a few of those. I'll bet the bupleurum looks really neat with bright pinks and purples.

I forgot to mention that I also grew a couple of shasta daisies, with hopes of flowers next year.

Another one for the "so-so" category is bunny tail grass (lagurus ovatus). It was cute, but too short and started drying & going to seed too soon.
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ei_ei_o
15 years ago
I was thinking of this topic the other day - I will absolutely grow:

nicotiana (as a filler not good as a stand alone but they looked AWESOME with Husker Red Pestemon & tall asiatic lilies)
zinnia (all types)
marigolds (all types)
rudbeckia (the bunnies eat these every year but I do love them so I will try yet again)
coleus (not for arrangements just look good in the shady spots)
allysum

I will not grow:
cosmos bright lights (too big a plant for too little bloom)
cosmos sea shells (i don't know what I did wrong here but I got really crappy flowering)
stage_rat
15 years ago
Hits:
Zinnias!!!
Rudbeckia
Feverfew, single and double (more than a filler)
Asparagus fronds as filler (yes, from the veggie plant)
Agastache flowers

Misses:
I loved Bells of Ireland in a bouquet I was once given. But the plants I grew topped out at 8 inches or less! That was a disappointment.

(PS: Hi, Motria!)
kqcrna
15 years ago
Hits
zinnia
rudbeckia
columbine
veronica
digitalis
chives
gaillardia
hydrangea
larkspur
coleus (I do stick small springs into shallow arrangements)
verbascum

This one was my favorite so far this year
{{gwi:402741}}

Karen
sophiarose
15 years ago
Wow Karen!
What a great way to start your day...to walk in and see all that beautiful color on your table! Very, very pretty!
sophiarose
15 years ago
Thanks Motria! This is a neat thread. Did you grow your Belles of Ireland in full sun and did you direct or WS them? Mine did not do so well, they are sort of mildewy on the lower half of the plant. My Bunny Tails fried :-( I plan to try both again next year in different locations.

A couple more that I really enjoyed but forgot to list:
White Wonder Fever Few
Blue Horizion Ageratum

One thing that I will do differently next year, is put up some support netting over most of the cuts, the Lizzies and the snaps were lovely, but they did not stay upright. I did read here that someone pinches back their snaps to get thicker stems. How much do you cut them back and when--any ideas?
One of these days I'm going to force myself to learn how to post pictures...
motria
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for all the responses! (Hi Stagerat!) Wow, what a nice arrangement, Karen!

I agree with ei_ei_o that cosmos isn't so great for cutting. But it's easy to grow and good in the border.

My bells of Ireland are in full sun. They're about 1-1/2 feet tall. In June/July we had a few heavy rains that knocked the plants over; the main stems stayed flat and multiple flower stems popped up nice and vertical.

BTW, I pinched my snaps back in June to make them more bushy.
northforker
15 years ago
This year I FINALLY learned to grow snaps for cutting (pinch, pinch, pinch - early) and love them (tetra giants). All kinds of zinnias fill my beds and another thing I have finally learned is to cut them more often - it just makes more flowers! I second sophiarose on the argeratum.. just wonderful as a filler in bouquets and mine self seeds politely so I have it from July through Septemeber.

Another nice cut flower that has not been mentioned yet is Aster crego. It's late (around August 1oth here) but so worth the wait. I'd only had experience growing new england asters (bushy with small flower bunches) and the crego "single pompom" was a pleasant surprise. I am going to grow more of these next year.

Nancy

hits and misses in the cutting garden

Comments (9)

sophiarose

motria
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hits and misses in the cutting garden

Comments (9)

sophiarose

motriaOriginal Author

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ei_ei_o

stage_rat

kqcrna

sophiarose

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northforker

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motria
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motria
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