"Easy" Cut Flowers for North Florida Gardens

David A. Dinkins, County Extension Director
Bradford County Cooperative Extension Service

Cut flowers are experiencing increased popularity among gardeners and home decorators throughout the United States. Due to this increased interest, county extension faculty and master gardeners have conducted cut flower field trials in several locations throughout north Florida. Some of the counties conducting these trials include Baker, Bradford, Columbia (Research Center), Duval, Santa Rosa and Taylor.

This publication provides a listing of cut flower species and cultivars that are relatively "easy" to grow in north Florida.

Cut Flower Species And Cultivars Showing Good Performance in
Various Demonstration Trials in North Florida

Botanical Name	Common Name	Cultivar	Field Notes
Ageratum houstonianum	Blue Flossflower	Blue Horizon	Spring planted. Flowered for 2 months, with peak in June. Heavy production, but 12-inch stems were shorter than desired.
Ammi majus	False Queen Anne's Lace		Spring planted. Flowered heavily four weeks, mostly in May. A vigorous grower that produced 5 inch flower clusters of 32-inch stems.
Antirrhinum majus	Snapdragon	Rocket Mixed	Fall planted. Long flower spikes on 26 inch stems during spring. Caterpillars sometimes infested buds and flowers.
Asclepias tuberosa	Butterfly Weed		Direct seeded during the spring. Flowered on 20-inch stems and was very heat tolerant.
Caryopteris incana	Blue Spiraea	Blue Mist	Spring planted. The most surprising of all the trials. It flowered consistently on 20-inch stems. The unusual flower arrangement could make it a unique floral display.
Celosia argentea spicata	Spired Celosia	Flamingo; Feather Pink; Feather Purple	Outstanding performers. Both cultivars flowered for 3 months on Flamingo 36-inch stems. Flower heads are  small, and florists considered them as "filler" material. Spring planted.
Celosia plumosa	Plumed Celosia	Century Mixed	Spring planted and very heat tolerant.
		Century Cream	Flowering occurred during the entire summer. Flower heads were large, but stems averaged only 16  inches in length. Most cultivars exhibited increased length when planted in late spring and early summer.
Celosia spp.		Cramer's Amazon
Delphinium sp.	Delphinium	Pacific Giants; Mix; Magic Fountains	Both cultivars of Delphinium were fall planted and flowered well during April and May. The Pacific Mix Giant cultivar was very productive, stems were too large for use by local florists.
Dianthus barbatue	Sweet William	Tall Double Mix	Fall planted Dianthus was productive, but succumbed to heat in early May.  Stem length averaged 16-inches.
Eustoma grandiflorum	Lisianthus	Echo Blue; Echo Mixed; Heidi Deep Blue; Heidi Pink Rim	All cultivars of Lisianthus performed well. "Echo Blue" was the most popular cultivar  produced in the trials.  Spring planted.
Gladiolus sp.	Gladiolus	Mixed Colors	Produced 30 inch stems and high quality flowers,  but a browning of the calyx was noted.  This condition is believed to be heat related. Spring planted corms.
Gomphrena globosa	Globe Amaranth	Strawberry Fields	Spring planted. Heat tolerant and  very productive. Good for both fresh and dried flowers.
Helianthus annuas	Sunflower	Sunbright; Velvet; Tapestry; Ring of Fire; Moulin Rouge; Valentine	Spring and summer planted. Most require pinching to encourage multiple branching and smaller flowers desired by florists. Can be direct seeded or transplanted and  subsequential planting for continuous  harvest is possible.
Helichrysum bracteatum	Strawflower	Monstrosum; Mixed	Spring planted. Flowered profusely, but the stem length was only 12 inches. Late spring or early summer plantings should be considered.
Limonium sinuatum	Statice	Fortress Mix; Suworowii; Bright Rose	Fall planted and flowered heavily  into July. The "Fortress Mix" cultivar produced 30 inch stems. One planting of statice died due to cold injury during the winter of 1995 - 1996.
Matthiola incanata	Stock	Miracle White; Cheerful White	Fall planted and flowered on 18- inch stems for 6 weeks during the following spring. Flower heads were extremely large, unlike any that local florists had seen before.
Monarda citriodora	Lemon Mint		Spring planted. Produces tiered flower clusters on 26- inch stems.
Monarda didyma	Bee Balm	Panorama	Spring planted. Colorful flowers on 14-inch stems.
Tagetes erecta	Marigold	Gold Coins	Very vigorous 30 inch plants with many large blooms. Blooms up to 5 inches across and nearly as deep.
Verbens bonariensis	Verbena		Spring planted. Continuous flowering during the spring and summer. Sturdy 36-inch stems do not required staking.
Zinnia elegans	Zinnia	Big Red; Ruffles; Giant Blue Point; Mixed Berry's; Giant Series	Spring planted. Provided continuous flowering on 18-inch stems. Cultivar selection is critical. Diseases can be a problem.  Flower petals show at temperatures below 60 degrees.

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