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TFS Tips: Growing from Seeds

TFS Tips: Growing from Seeds

Grow your own cutting garden and surround yourself with color and texture, all season long. We’ve curated our selection of seeds with our favorites for floral arranging.

Want a few pointers on our favorite varieties? Scroll on.

 

Zinnia Illumination


 

We love late summer for flowers because there's so much local product available! Whether you're buying them at the farmers market or growing them yourself, zinnia is beloved because it's so easy to grow, has beautifully intricate eyes, and amazing variation in shape and color amongst a single variety. Zinnia Illumination is our favorite, and pairs perfectly with some of our tried and true juicy summer color palettes.



ZINNIA ILLUMINATION

zinnia elegans

Plant seeds into the garden after the last frost. When the soil is warm, sow thinly, six seeds per foot. Cover lightly but firmly. Keep surface from drying out until emergence. Thin after the first true leaves appear.

Harvest before flowers are completely open. Deadheading is necessary to prolong blooming and encourage branching. Zinnias should last 7-10 days in a vase.

height: 12-18”
light preference: Sun
germination: 3-5 days at 80-85°
plant spacing: 9-12”, 1/2” deep

 

Mixed Phlox



Another easy-to-grow cutting garden favorite, we sell phlox seeds as a mix of pinks because we love every variety. We also love that it blooms and blooms in the garden until the first frost, has a sweet fragrance, and lasts an entire week as a cut flower! A perennial, phlox will spread easily and come back year after year.

MIXED PHLOX

phlox

Plant seed into the garden as soon as soil can be worked in spring. Cover seed with 1/2” fine soil. Darkness is required for germination. Thin when first true leaves appear.

Harvest when half of blooms on a stem are open. Expect a vase life of seven days.

height: 16-20”
light preference: Sun
germination: 5-10 days at 60-65°
plant spacing: 8-12"


Snapdragon




Just as lovely in a vase as they are in the garden, snapdragons are the perfect linear element in an arrangement with their ruffly faces and many blooms. They hold a place in our hearts for providing endless amusement as children; if you pinch their dragon face-like blooms laterally their little dragon mouths pop open!



SNAPDRAGON

antirrhinum majus

Start seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before the last frost, and transplant once the weather has warmed. Pinching encourages branching.

Harvest when florets on the lower 1/3-1/2 of the spike have just opened, before insects can pollinate them. They will last 7-10 days in a vase.

height: 28-26”
light preference: Sun/Partial Shade
germination: 7-14 days at 70-75°
plant spacing: 4-12”


Annual Flower Mix




Includes Zinnia, Larkspur, Forget-Me-Not, Cosmos, Sweet Sultans, Calendula, Feathered Celosia, Annual Baby's Breath, Indian Blank, Tricolor Daisy, and more. Perfect for the laissez-faire gardener, the annual flower mix is a great way to direct sow for a whole range of varieties and colors. We love tossing a few packs down in neglected areas of the garden and marveling at what emerges! It's also a wonderful way for a beginner gardener to get to know the different varieties.



ANNUAL FLOWER MIX

50 seeds — annuals

Select a sunny site of about 20 sq ft and prepare the soil, planting after the last frost. Combine seeds with a small container of sand and sprinkle over sowing area. Rake lightly and water.

height: Varied
light preference: Sun
germination: 5-21 days at 60-65°
plant spacing: 8-12”


Forget-Me-Not Blue



Blue is a rare color in flowers, and forget-me-nots come in a most lovely delicate shade. With such an evocative name it's no wonder they are a treasured garden addition! They self-seed easily and prefer shaded moist locations, meaning that they'll happily ramble through ditches and boggy areas, bringing a little color to otherwise hard to use spots.



FORGET-ME-NOT BLUE

myosotis

Plant seed into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked easily. Cover seeds lightly with soil, as darkness is required for germination. Harvest when half of the flowers are open.

height: 18-24”
light preference: Sun/Partial Shade
germination: 5-8 days at 65-70°
plant spacing: 9-12”

 

Shop Individual Seeds, and our bestselling Edible Flower Seed Kit.

 

We want to see what you grow this season! Share with us @thefloralsociety

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