Red is a high-visibility primary colour. Depending on where you’re from and what you’ve experienced, it’s often associated with passion, love, power, strength, and urgency. In the garden, I tend to associate red with fall rather than spring, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be an all-season colour. I personally prefer deeper burgundy tones, but red flowers span a wide spectrum, from bright orangey-reds to rich, dark burgundies.
Whatever your experience with red, it’s a punchy addition to any bouquet that is both eye-catching and heart-stirring. If you love a red-dominated flower garden, try these striking palettes: red, pink, and white; red, orange, and yellow; or red, blue, and white.
Without further ado, here are some of my favourite red flowers for your garden!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read more about it in my privacy policy. Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!
The Best Red Flowers for Cut Flower Growers
Amaranth
Red amaranth is a stunning choice for fall, adding a rare pop of deep colour when most flowers are fading. Whether in upright plumes or trailing, velvety strands, it brings drama and texture to any arrangement. Plus, it dries beautifully, making it a long-lasting favourite for centrepieces!
Asiatic Lily
Asiatic lilies are vibrant, easy-to-grow perennials that return year after year, adding bold colour to the garden. They thrive in full sun but will still bloom in part shade, making them a versatile choice for cut flowers.
Autumn Beauty Sunflower
Autumn Beauty sunflowers bring a stunning mix of yellows, oranges, and reds to the garden. Their branching habit means one plant produces plenty of flowers, which is perfect for cutting. With their love of sunshine and heat, these sunflowers can thrive even in tough conditions!
Geranium
Geraniums are a classic choice for potted plant lovers, offering bright red blooms that thrive in containers, window boxes, and garden beds alike. While they’re not ideal for fresh arrangements, their vibrant petals press beautifully for crafts and dried flower projects.
If you’re looking for more container gardening options, red begonias and impatiens are always a good choice, too!
Related: How to Make The Most Aesthetic Pressed Flower Pumpkin Decor
Gladiolus
While they have a vintage charm, glads are anything but outdated—these bold blooms make a striking statement in bouquets. Just watch out for thrips and keep some blue sticky paper handy to keep them looking their best!
Related: How to Grow Glads in a Short Growing Season
Groovy Dahlia
These dahlias are almost always the first to bloom, make a ton of tubers, and are always good for taking cuttings. However, the stems always get stretched out, and I don’t think there is anything you can do about it. It’s just how it is.
Related: How to Grow Dahlias in a Short Growing Season and Cold Climate
Hope for Humanity Rose
Red roses are the classic symbol of love, and this Zone 3 variety looks like the shape you think of when you think of a rose. A must for any traditional or formal garden!
Related: Heirloom Roses Canadian Review
Orach
This looks much redder in real life than it does in this picture. Orach is easy to grow, self-seeds a lot, and if it likes your soil, it will grow like a mini bush!
ProCut Red Sunflower
This is a classic-red to burgundy-red sunflower. Like all ProCut sunflowers, it’s pollen-free, making it ideal for cut arrangements without the mess. As a single-stem, one-and-done bloomer, it produces one perfect flower per plant. A must-grow for sunflower lovers!
Ranunculus
The red ranunculus pictured below was part of a mix, so I don’t know the exact variety. Red ranunculus offers a fairly true red option for the cutting garden.
Related: How to Grow Ranunculus in Zone 3 (So They Don’t Die!)
Strawflower
Strawflowers are incredibly versatile blooms that shine in both fresh bouquets and dried arrangements. These resilient flowers are among the first to bloom in July and are perfect for seed saving.
Related: 25+ Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
Red-Adjacent Flowers
These range from hot-red-orange to dark-burgundy-almost-purple. I personally tend to favour these shades as opposed to the true reds, but, you never know, if the true reds come back in style, I may change my tune!
Arabian Night Dahlia
These are one of the first to bloom in the garden and are quite easy to take cuttings from. The only bad thing is that their stems tend to get thinner as the season goes on.
Related: How to Get More Dahlias for Free with Cuttings
Black Knight Scabiosa
This is one of my favourite scabiosa varieties. It’s a dark red almost black colour, hence the name, and, as usual, looks good at all points of the growing cycle.
Black Swan Poppy
Poppies aren’t practical for cut flowers, but I love them in my garden and keep them for the seed pods. I intend to have a very large poppy section in my cut flower garden this year, after being inspired by a garden I visited in Watson, SK last summer.
Related: How to Grow Poppies in Zone 3
Dogwood
Dogwood branches are a stunning addition to off-season and holiday arrangements, known for their striking colour and unique texture. With their vibrant red, yellow, or even green stems, dogwoods bring warmth and visual interest to arrangements during the colder months when many other plants are dormant. Grow the Red Twig variety for a punch of rich red in the middle of winter.
Madam Butterfly Red Snapdragon
These are probably my favourite red snapdragons. They are a perfect burgundy and, of course, the Madam Butterfly blooms are so frilly!
Maltese Cross
Maltese crosses can grow quite tall, making them ideal for planting at the back of flower beds. Their unique colour adds a refreshing touch of summer joy to your perennial garden but can be a bit tricky to arrange with because of their vibrancy.
ProCut Plum Sunflower
It isn’t the reddest of reds, but if you’re looking for more of an antique look, ProCut Plum is a good red to choose.
Queeny Lime Red Zinnia
This is one of my favourite zinnias to arrange with, especially if I feel like the colours I have aren’t working together. A Queeny Lime Red can pull a bouquet together in a pinch!
Valley Rust Bucket Dahlia
A good, faithful dahlia. Valley Rust Buckets are good bloomers and tuber makers and are a really useful colour in arrangements. They’re sort of red and sort of orange and in the fall they play nicely with everything.
Are there any red flowers I missed? Let me know in the comments!
If you liked this blog post, find me on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to follow more of my farmer florist journey and join in the cut flower conversation! I also make weekly videos on my YouTube channel. You can also sign up for bouquet-making events and buy my flowers at my sister site Shifting Blooms. I hope to see you there!
SERIOUS ABOUT STARTING A CUT FLOWER GARDEN BUT NEED MORE HELP?
The Ultimate Cut Flower Bundle has everything you need! Learn exactly which flowers to grow for blooms all season long, get done-for-you plans and a system to create your own so you can grow exactly what works for you. You’ll get Cut Flowers Made Simple, Bouquets Made Beautiful, The Cut Flower Seed Saving Companion, so you can save some serious money on seeds, and my Flower Farmer Garden Planner.
It’s exactly what the beginner cut flower gardener needs to be in blooms as long as possible and to avoid all those new-grower mistakes. It’s like your skip-to-the-front-of-the-line growing guide for every part of the cut flower growing journey. If you bought each one of these ebooks separately, it would be $84. But with the bundle, you get it all for only $72!
Join the conversation