If you want to grow cut flowers in your garden, seed starting is pretty much a given. While there are some flowers you can direct sow, for most varieties in most climates, seed starting will yield the best results.
In this blog post, I’ve included a selection of some common cut flowers you can start from seed, organized by the week they should be started!
Want my vegetable seed starting schedule? Check it out here!
Figuring Out Your Seed Starting Weeks
NOTE: If you’re coming from my vegetable seed starting post, this is the same spiel. Feel free to skip to the lists below!
Ever feel confused about when to start your seeds? Here are the three simple steps to figuring out your seed starting weeks:
1. Find Your Last Frost Date
- Search “last frost date” plus your city.
2. Count Backwards to Find Seed Starting Weeks
- Your last frost date = Week 0
- One week before = Week 1
- Two weeks before = Week 2
- Keep counting back until Week 12—that’s when seed starting begins!
3. Plan Your Seed Starting Schedule
- Use the schedule below to pick the seeds you want to start
- Write down what seeds to start when in your garden planner
Additional Tips
You might notice that there are very few odd weeks in my seed starting schedule because many seeds have a flexible start time. You can often start Week 12 seeds in Week 11, Week 10 seeds in Week 9, and so on.
I suggest using some common sense the closer you get to Week 0. The temperatures might not be ideal that year for planting out, so your Week 0 might more practically be a week earlier or later. The Week 0 on your calendar is simply what you’re aiming for–we don’t control the weather.
Another tip I always give is to write your seed starting plan in your day planner as well as your garden planner. Don’t just assume you’ll remember to open your garden planner when it’s time to get started!
Cut Flower Seeds to Start in…
Week 12+
If you’re new to growing cut flowers, I wouldn’t recommend starting any of the flowers in the Week 12+ list. Not because they are particularly difficult to seed start, but because remembering to water them in the middle of winter can be harder when it’s just not in your brain to do so.
- eucalyptus
- lisianthus
- perennials from seed
Week 12
There is still not a lot to seed start at in Weeks 12 and 11, so enjoy the break and use this week to collect any seed-starting supplies that you’re missing!
- delphiniums
- foxglove
- yarrow
Week 10
Week 10 is the first really substantial seed starting week in a cut flower garden! These are all my must-grows. A lot of these flowers can also be started in Week 8, if you’re not quite ready to go in Weeks 10 and 9.
- feverfew
- iceland poppies
- rudbeckia
- snapdragons
Week 8
This is also a good time to take out your dahlia tubers and give them one last check for desiccation or mushiness.
- asters
- celosia
- fennel
- iceland poppies
- rudbeckia
- snapdragons
Week 6
This is a very intense week. Not only are you starting a ton of flowers from seed, but you’re also likely bumping up the flowers from Week 10 and possibly also the flowers you started in Week 8. In addition to that, Week 6 also happens to be approximately the week when you direct sow all of the flowers that need to be sown immediately when the snow melts.
- asters
- bachelor’s buttons
- calendula
- marigolds
- strawflowers
- zinnias
Week 4
In Week 4 pretty much all of these things can be direct sown, so it’s up to you if you want to seed start them or not. I tend to seed start to ensure earlier blooms.
- calendula
- dahlias
- gladiolus
- marigolds
- sunflowers
- zinnias
Direct Sow
The flowers below do not require seed starting. I don’t include Week 2 in my seed starting system because if you start seeds in Week 2 they won’t get big enough to plant out by the time we hit our final frost date. Week 2 is a good time to start hardening off your plants though, so you’ll want to do that carefully.
- baby’s breath
- calendula
- larkspur
- marigolds
- sunflowers
- zinnias
Related: Do This One Thing to Prevent Your Plants from Dying This Spring
If you liked this blog post, find me on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram for more cold-climate vegetable gardening tips, delicious recipes, and cut flower goodness! I also make weekly videos over on my YouTube channel. I hope to see you there!
HAVE YOU TRIED SEED STARTING, ONLY TO BE LEFT WITH STRETCHED-OUT SEEDLINGS AND DEAD PLANTS?
You’re not a bad gardener–you just need a little know-how. For the price of a few seed packets, you can stop wasting time and money and start growing seedlings that actually live, and you get to harvest. Don’t miss out on another growing season. Get your copy of Seed Starting Success now (videos included)!
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