I am trying to make a list of great long lasting cut flowers to plant (preferably from seed) . So far I have come up with zinnia.. and thats it. I am looking for easy to grow and ones that last a really long time in vases. I bought some cut tulips over the weekend that still look great but they were $1 per flower, am I being too cheap??
cutting garden flowers?
I am growing alstroemeria for the first time this year, they flower all summer and will stay in vase for 2-3 weeks looking great. Perennial, and some say can throw seeds as far as 5', so mine have a spot all to themselves. I think calla is another long laster.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/55272/index.html
chris
I love alstroemeria - I have 4 different kinds now including a lovely variegated one.
SuzannesFlowers - if you want some of the Sweet Laura, I can send for postage or if you are going to be at the Round UP, I'll bring you some. Some folks say they are invasive but I think of them as vigorous.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/51590/index.html
Lilies are wonderful. Some salvias. Dahlias. Mums - I have a new mum that looks like a dahlia and is bronze when it first opens and changes to icy pink!
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/MQUARS.html Easy to propagate from stem cuttings.
Sterling
Lavender: grosso, provence and any of the spanish types
crocosmia
annual candy tuft
queen anne's lace
rudbeckia (there are so many perennial rudbeckia I love to cut!!)
coreopsis
coreopsis tripteris
gladiolas
showy oreganoes
I grow many types of greenery for cut flowers too: cast iron plant, ferns, hosta leaves (last so long!), golden oregano, setcresia (sp?)
GGG
i have also cut acuba and it roots in water! thanks for all the ideas.
sterhill, i would love to have some sweet laura for postage, i think the roundups are usually on saturdays and I always have to work. gotta make money to buy more plants!?!
Sterling, have you ever grown the altroemeria from seed? I bought mixed seed, planted 4 days ago, I hope it grows. No sign yet, but I am so anxious to see if I can grow it from seed. If you have extra of any kind, could you bring some to the round-up for me?
chris
You have got to cold treat alstromera seeds before they germinate. They have that thick, black greasy coating on them that stops them from germinating without a good cool temp time. Try putting them in the fridge for 4 weeks with a humidity dome, then back outside.
I have tried for several years to grow mine from seed with no luck, but I did not do in the fridge, just outside in "winter"!
GGG
Yikes! What is a humidity dome? This sounds like it is going to be harder than I thought.
chris
Altroemeria from seed? I bought $35 of Seeds from that lady in Peru and ONE germinated and it turned out to be GRASS!!!!! I did follow all the directions... well, some times things work and some times they don't.
SuzannesFlowers - I don't have time right now but send me a d-mail so I'll have you on my list. They are pretty easy to ship but right now I've got too many things needing to go in the ground... whoa - plant rescues are great but I am having to amend a lot of areas before planting. That's a lot of work!
Sterling
I have grown alstroemeria from seed in the past. It isn't the easiest thing to do - you would be a lot better off buying the plant and letting it naturalize (there are some varieties that self-sow almost to the point of being weedy). I think a lot of seed on the market is old or sterile; this is another reason to buy the plant instead.
I bought a container of alstromeria from Walmart on Wednesday. The container had a circled trellis on it too. I'll be going back for more.
On my way today then, thanks.
chris
If you ever get to West Cobb, Lost Mountain Nursery has variegated alstroemeria for sale. They weren't in bloom so I don't know the color of the blooms.
As for cut flowers I recommend dahlias, dahlias, dahlias!!! They have over 10-day vase lives. Come visit us on the dahlia board! We're certifiable.
You can plant dahlia from seed (they'll bloom the first year) or tubers. Both available from WM.
I will heartily agree with dahlias. The Dahlia Society of Georgia has a list of great cultivars of dahlias for this area.
http://www.dahliasocietyofgeorgia.org/
I need to get some more. I have yellows and reds (as they match my living room) but need some other colors.
Do you grow cut flowers to match rooms in your interior? I do! We are just working on our new kitchen - acid green, magenta, golden yellow and orange. I will be growing flowers to match for the table and window sills. The dining room is a bit harder...turquoise and green. There are not so many turquoise flowers, lol :0
GGG
GGG, I wish you hadn't mentioned matching my flower colors to rooms... I never thought of that!!! I have so many dahlia tubers, now I have to paint my walls!!!
Well the Walmart by me didnt have any alstroemeria, so I will call a couple of others tomorrow. Dahlias are great idea. Jax is too funny, getting ready to paint walls. LOL
chris
lol!
No one has mentioned shrubs, but camellias are a great cut flower for winter to early spring. Also red spider lilies for fall.
gee... before reading this thread I was at peace.. Now I have the sudden urge to go find alstromeria at a local Wal-mart and keep looking until i find it or hit Cordele.. i have people in Cordele, so I could say I was there for them.. well Americus really..but probably only one Wal-mart away :)
Sterling.. I saw that sale too and i almost ordered and then I remembered all the stuff that needed to be planted already and all the seeds I already have. Insanity!! Sorry it didn't work for you :(
:)
Susan
Susan, I didnt want or know what alstroemeria was 3 months ago and now it has become an obsession. I need it in all the colors. I sure hope it lives up to everything I have read about it. No signs of germination yet but Sterling is bringing some for me to the roundup.( yea!) I am still checking my Walmart every couple of days and Pikes and HD.
chris
I will check the walmart here for alstromeria, some have better garden centers than others. I have to wrestle the veggie garden beds from hubby so I can now plant some of these great ideas!! Maybe I can plant in pots this year?
Here's a pic of my alstroemeria that I bought at Walmart recently. I'm very pleased with the two plants. Now I wish I had bought three. I did go back but many were not in bloom with no tag for bloom color. The ones that were in bloom were more orange than fushia.
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/Cordeledawg_1177692188_912_tn.jpg
Sorry I'm not at my dh's computer where the picture file is located. Had to copy from my diary.
Oooo pretty!
My Walmart didn't have Alstroemeria or clearance bulbs either. :(
Danita
Well, they put the clearence rack of bulbs now out on the sidewalk in the blazing sun! Those little plastic bags filled with bulbs will now turn to mush and won't even be worth a dollar. You just have to catch these clearence sales at the very beginning before the big box stores start to abuse their wares.
I agree, Beth, Camellias do last a good while in a vase. And they should match anyone's walls. "giggle" How quickly will they bloom from seed? How do coneflowers do in a vase? They bloom quickly from seeds. What about shasta daisys?
edited to add another question.
This message was edited Apr 29, 2007 2:12 AM
Deborah, nice color on that alstroemeria. None at my Walmart or HD again yesterday. :( No clearance yet either.
chris
FYI,
I just saw various colors of potted alstroemeria at the Publix in Vinings on Paces Ferry. They were in 8 in pots, wrapped in decorative paper and cost 16.99. More than I should spend right now but I thought it might be of interest to others.
Danita
Thanks for the info. I will check mine.
chris