Spring to Fall: Extending the Flower Season
With the U Pick Flower Field pumping out blooms, I wanted to share some of my best tips and tricks for extending the bloom time in your garden!
Over the past several years, I’ve been fine-tuning the timing of my flowers to try and extend the U-Pick season. Although much of it depends on the weather, I have also found other ways to help get the flowers pumping out earlier:
Plant cool weather crops early
I start my ranunculus in December, January, and February. This gives me a bloom time of May and into June. Once the temps rise, ranunculus go dormant, so be sure to get these beauties into soil when it’s still cold outside!
I start my Sweet Peas in February, indoors or in a greenhouse. My greenhouse is not heated, but it does protect the baby seedlings from the harshest weather such as hail or strong winds and rains. Typically, I’m able to plant them out in the garden by the middle of March and they start their blooming by the end of June/early July.
I have a few perennials that don’t require much effort from me, such as scabiosa and yarrow, which both begin blooming in June.
Push the Limits: Don’t Believe What the Seed Packet Tells You.
Seed packets are all lies.
(Ok, maybe that’s a bit drastic).
Generally, seed packets will “play it safe” by telling you to wait until after the last frost, or close to it. In reality, most flowers can handle some cold temps. I’ve done some trialing over the last 5 years, and I’ve learned that the spring/early summer crops should be planted out much earlier than what the seed packet tells you.
If you’re able to start some hot weather crops (such as zinnias, sunflowers, or dahlias) indoors prior to your last frost, you can get a head start. However, many of them prefer to be direct-sowed. I encourage you to try a variety of methods and timing, and see what works in your garden!
Leave Dahlia tubers in the ground through the winter
This will absolutely depend on your growing zone, how well your soil drains, etc. but if you’re able to safely leave your tubers in the ground, they will bloom 4-6+ weeks earlier than newly planted tubers!! This year I even had a dahlia bloom in June, which hasn’t happened to me before!
Honestly: If you have extra tubers, try it out. No matter what zone you’re in, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that well-mulched tubers can survive the winter!
(do NOT try it out with your unicorn tubers that are hard to find, until you’re confident it will work!)
I have an entire blog and video all about dahlias here, and I also have a blog all about how to care for those overwintered dahlias here.
My tubers that were left in over-winter came up SO much earlier than my newly planted tubers!
Plant Some Fall-bloomers
When you think of autum decor, there are a few flowers that may come to mind:
Chrysanthemums are one of the most popular plants to help keep color around the garden when the weather turns cold, and you can even order live plants on amazon!
You can also plant some Hellebores to color up your garden in the dead of winter, often blooming in late January or February!
Experiment, Experiment, Experiment.
Basically, you’ll need to learn the ins-and-outs of your particular garden space by experimenting! Each space is very unique, but figuring out what works for you is the fun part.
And remember: we all “unalive” a few plants here and there (or a lot of plants…). That’s just part of the experience!
What tip and tricks have you learned along the way? Comment below, I’d love to hear how you keep blooms going all season long!
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