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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Tip of the Week — 8/4/08

Posted in Gardening Tips on August 4 2008, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

The Cutting Garden

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.
hydrangea

Cut flowers can transform your home in the summer, and many flowers are easy to grow in the garden. When designing your garden, plan for flowering shrubs such as lilacs, hydrangeas, and viburnums; grasses; and foliage plants such as hostas, Rex Begonias, and ferns.

The basic rules of thumb for cutting flowers from the garden are as follows:

  • Cut early in the morning when the stems are nice and turgid; as the day heats up they start to dehydrate.
  • Use sharp tools that will make a clean cut.
  • Cut an inch from the bottom of the stem at a 45-degree angle, providing more surface area.
  • Place the cuttings in a bucket of water immediately, otherwise the stems will seal up and inhibit absorption.
  • Remove all foliage that is under water to prevent decay and bacterial growth, which shortens the flower’s vase life.
  • Use lukewarm water unless you are arranging early season bulbs, which prefer cool water.
  • Use flower food to increase the longevity of the arrangement. For a homemade version, mix together 1 teaspoon each of sugar, household bleach, and lemon juice.
  • For flowers that grow on individual stems such as zinnias, dahlias, and sunflowers cut when the flower is open.
  • For flowers that have multiple buds, use stems with a few buds open and others starting to show color. Snapdragons, delphiniums, phlox, and lilacs are some examples.