Top 10 Cut Flowers

Flowers add a breath of life to any decor, whether a bunch of cheerful daffodils on the kitchen table, a spray of orchids in a sophisticated foyer or a single rosebud in a bedside vase. While virtually any flower can be cut from the garden and brought inside there are some varieties that are better suited for cutting than others.

Rose

Roses come in many colors, except true blue. Red is one of the most popular colors. Some varieties include one color on the inner side of a petal with a contrasting color on the outer side of the petal.

Carnation

A perennial used to make corsages and boutonnières as well as budget bouquets, carnations are a versatile cut flower. Carnations come in every color except true blue. They are easily dyed or sprayed with color.

Chrysanthemum

Long lasting with a huge variety of shapes and sizes, chrysanthemums are available in shades of yellow, orange, white, purple and burgundy. Sizes range from pompoms about an inch across to spider mums nearly 6 inches across.

Lily

The most popular flower at Easter as a potted plant, lilies also make a strong appearance as cut flowers. Oriental and Asiatic lilies are a different type of lily from the trumpet shaped Easter lily and are used more often as cut flowers.

Bulb Flowers

Mostly available in spring, daffodils, freesia and tulips make the top 10 list. According to the Flower Council of Holland, the most popular colors for cut tulips are red, yellow, bi-colored, pink, purple, orange and white.

Sunflower

With their happy faces, sunflowers are summer and fall flowers. Sunflowers found in floral departments are a different type than those grown for their seeds, which can be more than 10 inches across. Sunflowers bred as cut flowers are generally smaller and come in a variety of shades, from very pale yellow to deep gold with brown.

Alstroemeria

Not a striking flower in and of itself, alstromeria is often used in bouquets in conjunction with other flowers. Alstromeria comes in shades of pink, yellow, purple and red and is often variegated. It's long lasting in floral arrangements.

Gladiolus

The long spikes of gladiolus flowers lend an air of the dramatic to floral arrangements. Stems may be as long as 4 feet with 15 or 30 blooms on each stem. Gladiolus bloom from the bottom buds upwards.

Gypsophilia

Commonly known as baby's breath, gypsophilia is a filler flower for arrangements. It has hundreds of tiny white flowers on branched stems with few if any leaves, giving the appearance of a frothy cloud.

Orchid

Used extensively in wedding bouquets and corsages, orchids are gaining in popularity as cut flowers. One stem of an orchid may have 10 to 20 blooms and last for more than a week.