Imagine stepping into your garden, snipping a few vibrant blooms, and creating a fresh bouquet for your dining table, a sunny windowsill, or as a heartfelt gift for a friend! With Sunset Plant Collection’s beautiful selection of cutting garden-ready plants, that dream is just a few snips away. But growing gorgeous flowers is only half the magic. To truly enjoy your blooms and help them stay fresh and fabulous once they’re inside, it’s all about how and when you harvest. With just a few simple techniques, you can extend the life, color, and impact of every stem you bring indoors.
Here are five easy, expert-backed tips to help you harvest like a pro and keep your garden-grown arrangements looking their best. Plus, we’ll highlight some of Sunset Plant Collection’s cut flower superstars to inspire your next bouquet!
1. Time It Right
- Harvest flowers in the early morning or late evening when temperatures are cooler and plants are naturally more hydrated. This minimizes stress on the stems, locks in moisture, and helps flowers stay perky longer.
2. Cut with Care
- Use sharp, sanitized pruners or scissors to make clean cuts at a 45-degree angle. This angle increases the surface area for water uptake and reduces the risk of crushed stems or disease. Make your cuts deeply into the plant where the stems are stronger. Not only does this help the plant ultimately produce longer stems for arranging but it also encourages more branching and reblooming.
3. Hydrate Immediately
- Take a clean bucket of cool water into the garden with you to place each stem directly into after cutting. Even a few minutes without water can impact vase life, so don’t skip this step, especially on warm days!
4. Strip and Prep
- Before placing your flowers into an arrangement, remove any foliage that will sit below the waterline in your vase. Not doing so promotes bacterial growth, which can clog stems and cause flowers to wilt prematurely.
5. Extend Vase Life
- Change the water every 2–3 days, and give each stem a fresh angled cut. If desired, add either a premade or DIY floral preserve mix (1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and a few drops of bleach per quart of water) to feed the blooms and prevent bacteria.
Sunset Plant Collection’s Blooming Beauties:
Agapanthus
From the deep blues of ‘Little Blue Fountain’ to the variegated leaves of ‘Neverland’, Agapanthus is perfect for gardens, containers, and cut flowers! Blooming very early and reblooming all summer long with multiple spikes of flowers.
To maximize the life of your harvested Agapanthus blooms, cut stems when the first few florets start to open. Don’t worry, the rest will continue to bloom indoors!
Pickables™ ColorPop Dianthus
This easy-care perennial provides nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies, as well as long-lasting color for your garden. Bonus, Pickables™ ColorPop Dianthus produces armloads of bright pink blooms perfect for any bouquet!
For the longest vase life, aim to harvest Pickables™ ColorPop Dianthus just as the buds are beginning to open! Keep in mind that these sturdy stems love clean water and bright, indirect light.
White Wedding® Hydrangea
Being naturally more compact than most, White Wedding® Hydrangea‘s strong stems support masses of large, beautiful white blooms from midsummer to fall without much work. Bringing fabulous cut flowers directly to your backyard!
These thirsty blooms absorb water through both stems and petals. After cutting, try gently submerging the whole flower head in cool water for 15–20 minutes before arranging, and mist daily to keep them hydrated!
Leucanthemum
Making some of the best-cut flowers you can find, ‘REALFLOR® Real Cream’ and ‘Real Goldcup’ have the brightest yellow blooms on the market. Whether you’re growing it in cottage gardens, for cut flowers, or as bold borders, Leucanthemums bring great color to any space!
These sunny blooms are best cut when fully open and need frequent water changes to stay looking their best!
Whether you’re brightening your living room or surprising someone special with a garden-fresh bouquet, growing your own cutting garden is a simple joy that keeps on giving. With Sunset Plant Collection’s stunning selection of blooms and a few helpful techniques, your backyard can become a beautiful, ever-blooming source of color, fragrance, and delight. Happy harvesting and may your vases always be full!