7 Easy Cut Flowers For Beginners (That Will Bloom This Season)

These easy-to-grow cut flowers are perfect for beginner flower gardeners! And, these gorgeous blooms will be ready to harvest this summer.  No waiting required- how wonderful is that!

These fast-growing cut flowers will add charm to your garden and home. They are all perfect for beginner flower gardeners – so easy to grow.

With a little effort, you’ll have a colorful cut flower garden that is easy to maintain this summer. 

By August, you’ll be overflowing with beautiful bouquets!

7 Easy Cut Flowers For Beginners

I have a unique history in flower gardening. Over the last decade, I’ve grown flowers from an apartment, a condo, a 100-year-old home, and in the suburbs!

I can confidently say the plants listed here are the easiest cut flowers to grow.  As an added bonus, these plants are affordable and can be grown from seeds. 

And yes, many of them can thrive in pots and containers too- just be sure to purchase the dwarf varieties.

What is a cut-and-come-again flower?

Before we dive in, what type of flowers should you grow?

Well, a cut-and-come-again flower will produce more blooms once you cut some of the flowers off. The more you harvest, the more flowers the plant will produce!

These plants are very popular with backyard gardeners, because they give you the most bang for your buck!

1. Cosmos

Cosmos are cut-and-come-again flowers that will light up your garden with colorful red, white, and pink hues. They feature sea-shell-shaped flowers that look lovely in a vase. 

These easy-to-grow blooms love full sun and need an area with at least 6 hours per day. Once established, they are drought-tolerant. 

Give these plants moderate to poor soil- they do not like nutrient-dense soil. 

Even a novice gardener can easily plant cosmos by seed. They mature and start blooming within 60 days. 

• Skill Level: Very Beginner Friendly
• Zones: 2-11
• How To Grow: Choose well-drained soil in full sun and plant seeds 1/4 inch deep. 

2. Dwarf Sunflowers

Nothing says summer like a bouquet of vibrant yellow sunflowers! Dwarf sunflowers are the best suited for cut flowers, and they just may be the most charming cut flower a gardener can grow!

Luckily, they are easy to plant and are the perfect flower for beginners. While most varieties are not cut and come again, Sunfinity sunflowers are!  

These cheerful flowers are available in many colors, shapes, and sizes. The fuzzy Teddy Bear Sunflowers and the colorful Mardi Gras Mix are my favorites. 

As their name implies, these flowers must have full sun and need well-drained soil to thrive. 

• Skill Level: Easy to grow, beginner-friendly 
• Zones: 2-11
• How To Grow: Choose well-drained soil in full sun and plant seeds about one-half inch deep. 

Learn how to grow sunflowers in pots here.

3. Zinnias

Available in a rainbow of colors, zinnias are gorgeous in flower beds and in bouquets! They grow quickly from seeds, and one plant can produce hundreds of flowers per season, making them one of the most economical cut flowers. 

There are many varieties to choose from- shorter varieties grow pots and containers and larger plants can thrive in flower beds!

Like so many cut flowers listed here, zinnias need full sun and well-draining soil to thrive. 

Harvest your zinnia flower at the base of the stem to encourage the plant to branch out and create more flowers.

• Skill Level: Easy to grow, beginner-friendly 
• Zones: 2-11
• How To Grow: Choose well-drained soil in full sun and plant seeds about one-quarter inch deep. 

Find out how to harvest and save zinnia seeds at the end of the season here. 

4. Bachelor’s Buttons

Bachelor’s Buttons have showy flowers and pretty silvery green foliage. They make great companion plants for many other flowers and are a charming addition to a vase full of homegrown flowers.

These drought-tolerant plants thrive in full sun and are perfect for the busy gardener.  

Harvest the flowers when they just start to open, and the bloom will last up to two weeks in a vase!

Bachelor’s Buttons will happily grow alongside sunflowers and zinnias in a full sun garden with well-drained soil. These flowers will re-seed, and volunteer plants will pop up next season.  They are also a cut and come again flower!

• Skill Level: Easy to grow, beginner-friendly 
• Zones: 2-11
• How To Grow: Choose well-drained soil in full sun and plant seeds about one-quarter inch deep.  

5. Daisies 

Shasta Daises are a classy perennial boasting long-lasting cut flowers which can last up to 14 days in a vase. 

The classic white and yellow blooms also attract butterflies, making them a great addition to the pollinator garden.

Unlike many flowers listed here, daisies will return year after year, making them a great investment for your flower beds. 

When grown from seed, daisies take a full year to mature and start producing flowers. Purchase mature daises in one gallon buckets from a nursery to speed up the process and enjoy cutting flowers during the first year!

• Skill Level: Easy to grow from established plants
• Zones: 4-9
• How To Grow: Well draining soil, full sun.

6. Strawflowers

With their unique, papery petals and candy-colored hues, strawflowers bring the wow factor to any bouquet. 

These long-lasting cut flowers can last up to 7 days in a vase. Harvest the flowers when they are about half open to extend vase life. 

Strawflowers are another easy-to-grow flower that thrive in lots of sunlight. They need excellent soil drainage with moderate fertility. 

• Skill Level: Easy To Grow
• Zones: 2-11
• How To Grow: Full sun, well-drained soil.

7. Dahlias In Pots 

Dahlias overflow with blooms all summer long and provide stunning flowers for bouquets. But these plants can be challenging for new gardeners when grown in the ground.

Plants purchased and grown in containers are easy to maintain, however! Even these smaller varieties will give you great cutting flowers.

When deadheaded regularly dahlias will produce flowers all summer long. 

I have to admit I am a bit biased towards these flowers: there are so many colors, shapes and sizes to choose from! They last about 5 days in a vase, and the dramatic blooms can make quite a statement!

• Skill Level: Easy To Grow In Pots
• Zones: 2-11
• How To Grow: Give the flowers morning sun and protection from harsh afternoon sun. Water at the base of the plant.

Tips For Getting Cut Flowers To Last Longer In A Vase

You can extend the vase life by several days by giving your bouquet a little special treatment. Here’s how:

• When preparing flowers for a vase, be sure to remove any foliage that would be under the water line. Keeping the leaves out of the water prevents mold from forming and extends the life of the flowers. 

• Harvest your flowers when they just start to open- when they petals are a quarter to half open. This petal will continue to unfurl inside your home.

• Set your bouquet in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Warmth and sunlight will speed up the decay of your flowers. 

• If you have space, tuck your bouquet into the fridge overnight. Doing so will slow down the aging process of your flowers. 

The Joy OF Flower Gardening

Growing cut flowers doesn’t have to be intimidating.  

While some cut flowers, like roses and peonies, can be a little more challenging to grow, nurturing just a handful of the easy plants listed here will give you hundreds of gorgeous blooms throughout the summer. 

Even the beginner gardener can grow these flowers and enjoy stunning cut flowers throughout summer and early fall.