15 Longest-Lasting Cut Flowers for Bouquets and Arrangements
Are you looking for flowers that last an extra long time to plant in your cutting garden? In this article, gardening expert Melissa Strauss discusses 15 of the longest-lasting cut flowers in the garden.
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Growing flowers that are both beautiful and have a long vase life is the objective of most gardeners when we talk about cutting gardens. A lot of work and effort goes into growing a cut flower garden, so naturally, we want to plant flowers that will last for a long time after they are cut.
The vase life of most flowers can be extended by replacing the water every few days and by using flower food in your water. However, when it comes down to it, some flowers simply don’t last for a long time after cutting, and others do.
We have compiled a list that includes many of the best flowers for your cut flower garden that also have exceptional vase life. By planting these flowers in your garden, you can have beautiful, long-lasting floral arrangements from early spring until the first frost. Let’s take a look at these extra long-lasting flowers for your cutting garden.
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Lily
- Botanical Name: Lilium, Kerria
- Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Season: Spring, Summer
- Height: 2’-3’
- Vase Life: up to 14 days
- Zones: 3-9
For ultimate showiness and fragrance, you simply must include Asiatic Lillies in your cut flower garden. Cold-hardy plants that produce up to 40 blooms per year, per plant, these long-lasting cut flowers are easy to grow and simply stunning.
Some species of Lily smell better than others. L. speciosum and K. japonicum have a delicate and pleasant fragrance. Others, like L. pomponium, have a downright unpleasant smell, so avoid these in your cutting garden.
Lilies come in a wide array of colors and combinations and have an extra long vase life. Cut these stems with more than one flower while they are still in bud. The flowers will open successively and last for up to two weeks in a vase!
Zinnia
- Botanical Name: Zinnia
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Summer, Fall
- Height: up to 4’
- Vase Life: 7-10 days
- Zones: 2-11
I might be a little extra enthusiastic about zinnias this year because I finally planted a large number of them in the summer. They made for an incredible late summer and fall bloom. Zinnias almost grow themselves in hot, sunny weather. They are drought-tolerant, and the pollinators adore them, as well.
Zinnias come in several different sizes, petal formations, and an amazingly wide array of colors and color combinations. They are not picky about soil but do need to be planted in full sun if you want them to bloom big. Another phenomenal and long-lasting cut flower, they last for nearly two weeks in a vase with the water kept fresh.
Peruvian Lily
- Botanical Name: Alstroemeria
- Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
- Height: 3’
- Vase Life: up to 14 days
- Zones: 7-10
These are easy flowers to overlook in the supermarket. They are always available in an abundance of colors, and they are very inexpensive. They also have one of the longest vase lives of any plant I can think of. These are one of the absolute longest-lasting cut flowers; I’ve seen these last as long as a month when kept in fresh water and given good air circulation.
Peruvian Lilies are exceptionally easy to grow, and they’re reliable. Pollinators flock to them, and deer pay them no mind. They do reseed themselves quite freely, so make sure you keep cutting them as they bloom. They prefer partial sun with afternoon shade and ample moisture. You will have these flowers throughout the summer and well into the fall months.
Chrysanthemum
- Botanical Name: Chrysanthemum
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Fall
- Height: up to 3’
- Vase Life: 7-14 days
- Zones: 5-9
For wonderful, long-lasting cut flowers in the fall, chrysanthemums are perfection. With a variety of colors and sizes, these pretty flowering plants are sturdy and cold-tolerant, so you can count on them year after year. There are a wide array of heights when it comes to this plant. Make sure to choose one of the taller types with long stems for your cutting garden.
Not only are they beautiful and last up to two weeks in a vase, but chrysanthemums are edible as well and can be used as a charming garnish on the Thanksgiving table. The leaves are edible, too, although they have a slightly bitter taste, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Celosia
- Botanical Name: Celosia
- Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Season: Summer until frost
- Height: up to 4’
- Vase Life: 2 weeks+
- Zones: 10-12
Also known by the name Cock’s Comb, celosia is a wonderful plant that produces brilliant flowers perfect for creating unique floral arrangements and bouquets. Typically grown as annuals because of their warm weather needs, these plants are fast-growing and produce flowers in warm colors like peach, red, and magenta.
Grow these from seed or take cuttings in the fall to overwinter indoors. There are tall varieties, like Pampas Plume Tail, which really turn an ordinary arrangement into an extraordinary one. Chief Red Flame is my favorite for its classic flowerheads, which attract pollinators in bloom and songbirds when they go to seed. Celosia can last more than two weeks in a vase and makes wonderful dried arrangements as well.
Protea
- Botanical Name: Protea
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Winter, Spring
- Height: up to 8’
- Vase Life: up to 21 days
- Zones: 9-12
Proteas are amazing tropical, flowering, evergreen plants that produce spectacularly large, fascinating flowers. For some species, like King Protea, part of the fanfare in blooming is thanks to colorful bracts that surround the flowers. These flowers can get up to 12” across and look positively amazing in a bouquet.
If you want long-lasting blooms and live in a climate that can support them, there is a great market for these flowers. They last up to three weeks in a vase and make interesting dried flowers.
Rose
- Botanical Name: Rosa
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
- Height: up to 8’
- Vase Life: 10-21 days
- Zones: 5-8
Not only are roses among the most beautiful and fragrant cut flowers, they are also one of the longer-lasting ones, with a vase life of up to three weeks with proper care. Add flower food to your water if you want your roses to look their best for as long as possible.
Hybrid Tea Roses are wonderful for the cutting garden, and Grandiflora types have large, showy blooms and long, sturdy stems. Roses have a reputation as tricky to grow. They like a lot of fertilizer, and they need to be watered deeply, although infrequently. Keep an eye out for pests and diseases, as well.
Lisianthus
- Botanical Name: Eustoma spp.
- Season: Summer until frost
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Height: 1’-3’
- Vase Life: up to 2 weeks
- Zones: 8-10
Lisianthus are long-lasting, long-blooming, beautiful flowers that are known for being similar in appearance to roses. Although they have a somewhat delicate appearance with long, slender stems, they are actually quite sturdy and bloom for a long portion of the year, making them an excellent addition to the cutting garden.
The blooms come predominantly in shades of white, purple, and pink, but there are some shades of peach and yellow, too. Lisianthus only grows as a perennial in zones 8-10, so if you are growing them in a cooler climate, they will behave as annuals. It takes them a while to grow, so sow your seeds indoors in winter and transplant when the ground warms up.
Ranunculus
- Botanical Name: Ranunculus
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Spring, Summer
- Height: 20”
- Vase Life: 10-12 days
- Zones: 8-10
These cool-weather beauties are highly popular for use in bridal bouquets and other wedding floral arrangements. The cut flowers are as lovely as they are long-lasting, and they remain up to 12 days in a vase. Delicate-looking blooms are tightly packed with an incredible array of petals. Plant these corms in the fall in warmer climates for spring flowers and in the early spring in cool climates for summer blooms.
Ranunculus flowers range widely in color, with most falling on the warm side of the color scale. Cut these flowers as soon as the buds begin to color, and they continue to open after being cut. Give the plants plenty of water while they are in bloom.
Allium
- Botanical Name: Allium
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
- Height: up to 6’
- Vase Life: up to 3 weeks
- Zones: 4-9
These members of the Garlic family may come as something of a surprise. Their large, globe-like flowers are eye-catching and outlast nearly every other flower in the garden, with their vase life of up to three weeks! They are also perennials in Zones 4-9, so they return every year with their fantastic flowers.
Alliums have tall stems and large flower heads covered in many small flowers. They come in shades of purple, white, and pink and range widely in size. Giant Allium flowers grow as large as 10 inches in diameter. These plants add a touch of whimsy to your garden and floral arrangements. They bloom from late spring through the summer and occasionally into fall.
Hydrangea
- Botanical Name: Hydrangea
- Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Season: Spring, Summer
- Height: up to 6’
- Vase Life: 7-14 days
- Zones: 3-9
Gorgeous hydrangeas make excellent foundational plants in the cutting garden. They are perennials that grow into medium-sized shrubs and bloom reliably from late spring until early fall. Their large flowerheads last up to two weeks in a vase and much longer on the plant. They can be left on the plant to dry and then harvested for dried arrangements.
As their name implies, Hydrangeas like a lot of water. In fact, their blooms can be revived after cutting by dipping the entire flower in water. They will usually bounce back and last for several more days using this method. Colors include pink, purple, white, green, and true blue.
Gladiolus
- Botanical Name: Gladiolus
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
- Height: 3’-6’
- Vase Life: up to 2 weeks
- Zones: 5-10
Gladiolus flowers are tall, stately beauties in the cutting garden. They come in a wide range of colors and continue to bloom in succession if cut while still in bud. This means that they are long-lasting in a cut flower arrangement. If you change out the water and trim off the spent blooms toward the bottom of the stems, you can stretch their lifespan to about two weeks.
There are warm weather and cold tolerant, growing from Zones 8-10 and 5-9, respectively. The warm climate types are larger, with more impressive blooms, but they will not survive a freeze. The hardy varieties are perennial all the way to zone 5, but it’s a good idea to cover your glads with a thick layer of mulch in the winter.
Sunflower
- Botanical Name: Helianthus annus
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Summer
- Height: up to 25’
- Vase Life: up to 13 days
- Zones: 2-11
Sunflowers are such joyful flowers. Their large, disc-shaped blooms follow the sun and can last almost two weeks in a vase. Sunflowers are easy to grow and in most conditions. The only absolute requirement is that they need to be cultivated in full sun.
Sunflowers draw in local bee populations in droves, and if you forget to cut some at the end of the season, birds will flock to your yard to feast on the dried seedheads. These flowers symbolize happiness and longevity and bloom beginning in late spring, sometimes into the fall months.
Peony
- Botanical Name: Paeonia
- Sun Needs: Full sun
- Season: Spring, Summer
- Height: 3’-4’
- Vase Life: up to 10 days
- Zones: 3-8
Peonies are another shrubby perennial that make beautiful foundation plants in the cutting garden. The shrubs have attractive foliage, so even when they finish blooming, these are wonderful plants to add to the landscape.
The flowers that peony plants produce can be very large, and most types tend to have a pleasing fragrance. The flowers are strikingly beautiful and typically take center stage in bouquets and floral arrangements, acting as an anchor for smaller flowers. Cut them while the buds are about the size of a golf ball, and keep them cool. Your peonies can last up to 10 days in a vase if you take good care of them.
Calla Lily
- Botanical Name: Zantedeschia
- Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Season: Spring, Summer
- Height: 1’-3’
- Vase Life: up to 10 days
- Zones: 8-10
While they are only perennial in Zones 8-10, many cold climate gardeners grow these flowers and dig the tubers up in fall to store them for the winter. Calla lily popularity tends to wax and wane in the floral business, but I think they are always an interesting and pretty addition to a floral arrangement.
Callas come in shades of white, yellow, red, pink, orange, purple, and maroon. Their unique funnel-shaped flowers will last for up to 10 days in a vase and longer in some cases. They prefer a spot with full sun but appreciate shade in the afternoon in warmer climates.
Final Thoughts
All of these flowers have one thing in common, well, maybe two. They are all beautiful flowers that last for an extended amount of time in floral arrangements and bouquets. This makes them all wonderful choices for the cutting garden, or any garden for that matter!
