Garden Fireworks - 5 More Perennials That Burst With Dazzling Color

grand finale spheres, these flowers will transform your summer landscape into a spectacular display that keeps shining all season long.

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What plants do you recommend for cut flowers?

Dahlias and gladiolus in a cutting garden

Q. What plants do you recommend growing for cut flowers? I need something easy to grow, and I want to plant in spring.

A. Depending on your climate zone, try the following bulbs and perennials are recommended for cut flowers:

Anenomes - A. coronaria De Caen and St. Brigid are best.

Caladiums - While they're not grown for flowers, the long-lasting foliage works well in some arrangements.

Callas - These belong to the genus Zantedeschia. The waxy-looking, long-lasting flowers are very elegant.

Dahlias - Dahlias dominate. For inspiration, visit a nearby dahlia society show. They are usually held in September.

Gladiolus - Plant them after danger of frost is past. For a longer season, plant a few corms each week for several weeks.

Ixia - Sometimes called corn lilies, they are excellent for exhuberant country-style arrangements.

Liatris - They are available in blue shades to white, and have a feathery appearance.

Lilies - I'm referring to true lilies in the genus Lilium. There are lots of plants called "lilies", but not all are. For my money, the longer stemmed varieties are the best. The short-stemmed lilies are great for container growing.

Polianthes - The familiar tuberose lends a sumptuous fragrance to elegant arrangements.

Ranunculus - Ranunculus are exceptional in cut flower arrangements.

Many perennials are noteworthy for cutting, including the following:

Achillea - Commonly called Yarrow, the long-stemmed varieties are excellent for fresh and dried arrangements.

Convallaria or Lily-of-the-Valley - Just a few in a small vase are perfect for an intimate table setting.

Coreopsis - The long-stemmed varieties are best.

Daisies - Look for Leucanthemum.

Echinacea - Cone flowers are fine for fresh arrangements, but it doesn't end there. The dried seed heads sans petals are perfect for drying.

Ferns - While there are several species of ferns that will do, evergreen Polystichum acrosticoides - Christmas fern - provides the greenery you need all year long.

Iris - The best include Dutch hybrids (available in the fall as corms) and perennial Siberian iris. I wish the flowers lasted longer.

Kniphofia - These are stunning. You can use the flowers and foliage.

Rudbeckia - Black-eye Susans are excellent.

Scabiosa - Better known as Pincushion flower, plant them in your butterfly garden, too.


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Liatris - The Feather In Your Cap

My neighbor, George, was inspirational.  He, the older man, mentored the younger.  A backyard gardener, he went about it in a big way.  I couldn't begin to match his enthusiasm or energy.  George's sister owned a small floral shop, and many of her flowers were cut fresh from his garden.  Among her favorites was liatris, tall and lively with butterflies, which he grew in abundance.  I learned that it was very easy to grow, so it became one of my favorites, too.

Liatris (ly-AT-riss) spicata (spy-KAY-tuh, meaning to grow "in spikes") is native to eastern North America, and distributed from Quebec to Florida.  Plant height is 18" to 48".  Flower color ranges from purple to pink, and there is a white variety.  The feathery, star-shaped flowers arranged along the spike inspired its common names:  Blazing Star, Gayfeather.  Indeed, it would look jaunty stuck in a hatband.

In addition to its imaginative uses as a cut flower, liatris is grown in perennial borders, wildflower meadows, butterfly and bird gardens (goldfinches love the seeds!) and medicinal plant collections.  Liatris is deer resistant.

Liatris thrives in USDA climate zones 3 through 10.  Plant in full sun to partial shade.  Average well-drained garden soil with pH ranging from 6.1 to 7.8 is fine.  The corms can be planted in spring or fall.

Before planting, take a sample of your garden soil to your local Cooperative Extension Service office.  They often provide collection bags.  With each soil sample, indicate the type of plant you intend to grow in it.  For the most basic recommendations, you may be charged a nominal fee.  For more information such as micro-nutrient and organic content you may be charged more.

Prepare the planting bed by cultivating at least 6" deep, removing all traces of weeds. Compacted soil should be cultivated to 10" deep. Poorly drained sites can be improved by raising the height of the planting beds.

Your soil sample report will include fertilizer recommendations based upon the results of the test.  Following its instruction should be a good bet.  A fine all-around practice for  is to mix 5 tablespoons of 10-10-10 fertilizer and 2 cups of bone meal per ten square feet area.  Repeat the application when shoots appear, but be careful that fertilizer does not come into direct contact with plant tissue.  Apply 2 tablespoons of 10-10-10 fertilizer per ten square feet of garden area every two weeks until flower buds appear.

Plant liatris 5" deep.  Depth is measured to the bottom of the hole.  I recommend planting 6" to 8" apart, though I've read recommendations for closer and more distant spacing.  Cover the corms with soil and add a top-dressing of mulch about 2" deep to suppress weeds.  In climate zones 3 and 4, mulch is recommended in winter to protect liatris from cold.

Liatris looks great planted with cosmos, coreopsis, coneflower, daylily, black-eye susan, yarrow, salvia, shasta daisy and mullein.  I'm confident that you'll enjoy growing liatris.  Tall, lively and carefree, it could be the feather in your cap.  If you've never grown it before, do so this year.

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