If you’re anything like me, you probably enjoy having flowers inside the house as much as outside. I love to bring pieces of my garden into the home where I can enjoy their beauty from morning till night. A jar of homegrown flowers makes a charming token for a neighbor or hostess.
As a result, I’ve begun growing flowers specifically for cutting. I could say it was to save money on buying fresh flowers, but that would be untrue. Any gardener knows you don’t take up the hobby to save money. The real reason for a cut flower garden is bragging rights!
If you’re concerned that you missed the bus on a cut flower garden this year, I have great news! Many flowers can be planted from seed in early summer.
Most of these fall-blooming flowers can mature in just a few short months, and by the time fall rolls around, you can have a stunning cut flower garden to share with loved ones.
Black-eyed Susan
Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: up to 4’
- Hardiness Zones: 4-9
- Seed to Bloom: 70-90 days
Some sources will say that Black-eyed Susan will not bloom in its first year, but my experience has not matched up with this. Planted from seed, Rudbeckia can fully bloom within 90 days and will continue producing its golden flowers through summer and fall.
This pretty plant is very sturdy and draws many beneficial insects to the garden. Often seen growing on highways in wildflower beds, this may seem like a common plant, but once you’ve got it in your garden, you will appreciate how genuinely prolific this plant is. The flowers are long-lasting and grow at the end of long stems that are perfect for cutting.
Cape Marigold
Botanical Name: Dimorphotheca sinuata
- Plant Type: Grown as an annual above zone 9
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 12”
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 60 days
Cape Marigold, or African daisy, is a sweet plant in the Aster family. They can be planted in spring or summer. They can bloom within 60 days of planting and continue until the first frost. In climates with milder winters, they may also bloom through the winter. Topping out at around 12” tall, these make a wonderful border or foreground plant in the cutting garden.
The cheery flowers bloom in shades of white, yellow, orange, and salmon pink, with dark, purple-ringed centers. In addition to being beautiful, prolific bloomers, Cape Marigolds have edible petals. They flower best in times of mild temperatures, so while they may not bloom much during the heat of summer, once fall rolls in, you will get tons of blooms from these guys.
Chrysanthemums
Botanical Name: Chrysanthemum
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 1’-3’
- Hardiness Zones: 5-9
- Seed to Flower: 110 days
One of the quintessential flowers of autumn, chrysanthemums are often called mums. There is a very good reason these flowers are so popular with florists and in supermarket flower departments. They have an excellent vase life and can outlast most other flowers after they’ve been cut.
Mums come in all the best fall colors, like red, orange, and yellow, and shades of green, white, pink, and purple. They look like small fireworks and have a uniquely herbaceous fragrance. These are exclusively autumnal flowers, blooming in the cooler fall months when many flowers are finished for the season.
Coneflower
Botanical Name: Echinacea
- Plant Type: Perennial/Biennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
- Height: 3’-4’
- Hardiness Zones: 3-8
- Seed to Bloom: 1 year
Coneflowers are a member of the Aster family with very sturdy, flashy flowers. The center of the blooms is large and spiny. In the case of the popular purple coneflower, the center is bright yellow-orange. Petals range in color. The most commonly seen is purple, but coneflowers can be white, yellow, orange, and even nearly red.
These perennial flowers can bloom in their first year, but it’s best not to cut the first blooms from this plant. This can mean waiting for a full year to harvest the flowers, but they are an excellent food source for pollinators in the fall so that those flowers won’t go unused in the first year. The bees and butterflies will thank you for leaving them in the garden.
Cosmos Rubenza
Botanical Name: Cosmos bipinnatus
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 3’-4’
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 75-90 days
This sweet pollinator favorite is a great performer in the cut flower garden. Although the individual blooms don’t last long after they are cut, you can cut branches in the buds, and they will continue to open successively over a longer period of time. They mature quickly and will bloom through to the first frost.
The Rubenza variety is a wonderful, award-winning cultivar. The flowers initially bloom a deep, ruby-red shade and, as they age, turn to shades of dusky rose and terracotta.
They make a wonderful addition to a cut flower garden as prolific bloomers with attractive, feathery foliage. They are very low maintenance as well.
Crested Cock’s Comb
Botanical Name: Celosia cristata
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: up to 4’
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 90-120 days
Celosia comes in a variety of interesting shapes and textures. This variety is known for its uniquely shaped flower heads which are either fan-shaped or resemble a rooster’s comb, which is where its nickname is derived from. The flowers are velvety in texture and quite substantial. They are really striking in a floral arrangement in shades of red, orange, pink, and yellow.
This is an edible plant in the Amaranth family. The leaves have a flavor similar to spinach, and the seeds left behind from the flowers attract birds. Plant these in early July; you should see blooms by early October. They are very drought tolerant.
Dahlias
Botanical Name: Dahlia
- Plant Type: Perennial in zones 8-11
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: up to 6’
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 90 days from tubers
It’s impossible to choose just one variety of dahlia. These are the most addictive flowers I’ve ever planted. Once you see these stunning, long-lasting blooms begin to open in the garden, you will wish you had planted more of them. Dahlias can be grown from seed, but tubers will mature much faster, blooming in about three months.
There are so many colors, shapes, and sizes of dahlia flowers. From small to medium (3”) blooms to dinnerplate-sized flowers, if you plant just one type of flower in your cutting garden this year, try dahlias. They are quite susceptible to pests, so planting them alongside pest-deterring plants is advised.
Fountain Grass
Botanical Name: Pennistetum setaceum rubrum
- Plant Type: Perennial/Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 3’-5’
- Hardiness Zones: Perennial in Zones 9-10, Annual elsewhere
- Bloom Time: 60-90 Days
This plant is technically not a traditional flower, but it’s a great addition to the cut flower garden as it makes a wonderful filler. Fountain grass is a rapid-growing, ornamental grass that forms soft, fluffy, purple inflorescences from late summer to the first frost. It is perennial only in climates that do not experience freezing temperatures, but it can be overwintered indoors or in a greenhouse.
The long, arching blades of grass and velvety flower heads make this a nice addition to floral arrangements. The flowers are nontraditional and long-lasting, both as fresh and dried stems.
Gerbera Daisy
Botanical Name: Gerbera jamesonii
- Plant Type: Perrenial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 18”
- Hardiness Zones: Perennial in zones 8-10, annual elsewhere
- Seed to Bloom: 100 days
Gerbera Daisies are easy to find and can be planted from starts or seeds. They take about three months from seed to bloom and will continue to bloom until the first frost. In warmer climates, they are perennials, and they are grown as annuals elsewhere.
These brilliantly colored blooms are members of the Aster family and resemble daisies. They can be found in single, double, semi-double, and spider petal formations and a wide range of colors. These make wonderful cut flowers with their tall, fleshy stems that do a good job of transporting water to the flower heads. These are long-lasting cut flowers.
Globe Amaranth
Botanical Name: Gomphrena
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: Varies by cultivar, up to 4’
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 85-100 days
Gomphrena, or Globe amaranth, is another edible, late summer to fall blooming plant that is a great addition to a cut flower garden. This is more of a filler than a focal point in a floral arrangement, as the flowers are small and unassuming. It’s a big bloomer, though, flowering continuously from about three months after planting through the first frost.
This plant strongly resembles red clover, but long after clover has burned up for the summer, Globe amaranth will continue to produce its attractive, fluffy, pink flowers. It makes an excellent border with its cheerful, long-lasting color.
Goldenrod
Botanical Name: Solidago
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: up to 6’
- Hardiness Zones: 3-8
- Seed to Bloom: 90 days
Often considered a roadside weed, Goldenrod is a wonderful fall bloomer which makes an excellent addition to the fall cut flower garden. This lovely, tall plant blooms in late summer and fall with large, showy, yellow flower spikes. Mostly native to North America, the plant was used by Native Americans for its medicinal properties.
This is an incredibly easy plant to grow, and it spreads from rhizomes, so it is best to contain it unless you want a lot of goldenrod in the coming years. If you have the space to allow it to spread, it will bring tons of pollinators to the yard. Deadheading will bring more blooms.
Hare’s Tail
Botanical Name: Lagurus ovatus
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 12”-24”
- Hardiness Zones: Perennial in Zones 8-10, Annual Elsewhere
- Seed to Bloom: 45-50 days
Hare’s Tail, or Bunny’s Tail grass, is very popular as a dried flower, but also makes a great cut flower with a long vase life. Tall green, grasslike stems are topped with fluffy white flowerheads that resemble a rabbit’s fluffy tail.
This plant has a whimsical quality that makes it just plain fun to have in the garden and a great texture in floral arrangements. Children will enjoy the feel of these sweet, soft, fluffy bloom heads. They are fast to mature and long-lasting in the garden.
Helen’s Flower
Botanical Name: Helenium autumnale
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
- Height: 3’-5’
- Hardiness Zones: 3-9
- Seed to Bloom: 100-120 Days
This prolific autumn bloomer is one that pollinators will love as much as you do. Tons of disk-shaped, yellow to red and combination flowers bloom from late summer until the first frost. Helen’s Flower likes moist soil and will do well in marshy areas. It is not picky about the sun, doing well in partial or full exposure.
Helen’s Flower is a relative of the Common sunflower but on a much smaller scale. It is perennial in zones 3-9, returning for 4-5 years before dying off. Avoid letting the soil dry out around these plants, or you will end up with flowers that look ragged and listless.
Japanese Anemone
Botanical Name: Anemone hupehensis
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
- Height: 1’-4’
- Hardiness Zones: 4-8
- Seed to Bloom: Best propagated by division and cutting
Japanese Anemone is a hybrid anemone cultivated in Japan. This perennial is not grown from seed as it is a hybrid. It is best grown from cuttings or divisions. It can take 1-2 years to establish, but once it does, it will spread freely by rhizome, and you will have plenty of these pretty flowers to bring indoors, leave outdoors, or both!
This plant will bloom in partial sun but can also tolerate full sun. It blooms in the late summer and continues well into the fall. The flowers appear delicate, but they are really quite hardy and resistant to most diseases and insects.
Mexican Sunflower
Botanical Name: Tithonia rotundifolia
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 4’-6’
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 100 days
This stunning flower is perfect for a fall-cutting garden. The Mexican sunflower, also known as Tithonia, is one of the most brilliant orange flowers I have ever seen. It’s so bright that it nearly glows! Tithonia grows up to 6’ tall in a shrubby form, making a great backdrop in your cut flower garden.
Mexican sunflower is not a sunflower at all, but its own genus. They are both members of the Aster family, though, and their resemblance is strong, but I’ve never seen a sunflower in quite this shade of orange before. The stems supporting these flowers are fragile, so be gentle when cutting them. Pollinators adore this plant as well.
Prince of Wales Feather
Botanical Name: Amaranthus hypochondriacus
- Plant Type: Herbaceous annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 5’-8’
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 105 days
Amaranth is a wonderful plant to add to an autumn cut-flower garden. This tall, stately plant is not only beautiful, but it’s also edible. The burgundy plumes can be prepared similarly to rice, and the leaves are lovely in a salad. Birds love to eat the seeds as well.
These towering beauties make a truly striking statement in a floral arrangement. All parts of the plant are deep burgundy-red. Growing up to 8’ tall, this plant makes an excellent backdrop for other colorful fall flowers.
Snapdragon
Botanical Name: Antirrhinum majus
- Plant Type: Annual or perennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 15”-30”
- Hardiness Zones: 7-11
- Seed to Flower: 60-90 Days
Snapdragons have become a favorite of mine in recent years, specifically for their use as cut flowers. These versatile flowers are typically grown as annuals, although they are short-lived perennials in warmer climates. Snapdragons are cool-weather bloomers, and if planted in early spring, they will bloom through early summer and resume blooming in the fall.
These flowers make a great filler, border, or container plant and have large flowerheads that bloom from bottom to top.
As cut flowers, they don’t have an exceptionally long vase life, but they fill out an arrangement wonderfully and have a nice, gentle fragrance. They also tend to be resistant to pests, making them easy to grow and maintain.
Strawflower
Botanical Name: Xerochrysum bracteatum
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: 2’-3’
- Hardiness Zones: 2-11
- Seed to Bloom: 70 Days
Strawflowers are a unique and fun addition to the cut flower garden. Sometimes called everlasting daisies, they are members of the Aster family and make excellent cut and dried flowers. The flowers are actually made up of bracts, or dead tissue, surrounding a center made up of tiny florets; these are the true flowers.
The nicest thing about these flowers is that they dry nicely and retain their body and color for a long time, unlike most dried flowers. Most commonly seen in shades of yellow, red, and orange, these flowers bloom in the summer and fall and can be overwintered indoors or regrown from seeds in the spring. They are fast-growing and long blooming.
Sunflowers
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: up to 10’
- Hardiness Zones: 4-9
- Seed to Bloom: 80-120 days
Sunflowers make wonderful cut flowers with sturdy stems, brilliant blooms, and incredible staying power in a vase. This easy-to-grow, sunshine-in-a-flower plants are not only beautiful, but they also serve many purposes in the ecosystem.
Studies have shown that sunflowers planted nearby a bee hive will help to protect the hive from varroa mites, which are the greatest killer of honeybees.
Birds love to eat the dried seed heads from flowers left in the garden, and pollinators adore these flowers. Sunflowers can be planted every couple of weeks through the summer to maintain a supply that is constantly in bloom. Give these flowers as much sunshine as possible.
Swamp Sunflower
Botanical Name: Helianthus angustifolius
- Plant Type: Perennial
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: up to 5’
- Hardiness Zones: 8-10 as a perennial
- Seed to Bloom: 60-70 Days
I always love to see these flowers in yards around my town. It is a perennial here and spreads by rhizome, so after a few years, it spends several glorious weeks in the summer and fall just covered with brilliant yellow flowers.
It is one of the flowers I look forward to most. Swamp Sunflower has a delightfully natural and wild appearance. These are necessary if you like your cut flowers to have a whimsical meadow vibe!
Swamp Sunflowers grow on tall thin stalks dotted with thin, grass-like leaves. The flowers look like a cross between a sunflower and a daisy, with small dark centers and nicely shaped petals in single-petal form. These low-maintenance flowers are drought-tolerant and love as much sunshine as you will give them.
Zinnia
Botanical Name: Zinnia
- Plant Type: Annual
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Height: Up to 4’
- Hardiness Zones: 3-10
- Seed to Bloom: 60 days
Everyone is familiar with the last flower on our list, perhaps so much so that it often gets overlooked. The humble Zinnia is a fantastic flower in the cut garden in spring, summer, and fall. These plants are very fast growing, beginning to bloom before any other listed above.
ZInnias come in many different colors, sizes, and petal formations. Some are very small, low-growing plants with daisylike blooms. Others resemble Dahlias with their large-size rosettes of many petals. To omit this easy-care, fast, and prolific blooming plant would be an injustice.
Final Thoughts
All of these stunning fall-blooming flowers look beautiful in the garden and the home. A cut flower garden is an enjoyable and fulfilling project that will bring the fruits of your labor into the house. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll just be outside, elbow-deep in the cut flower garden daydreaming about moonlighting as a wedding florist!
