New to site and need advice on cut flowers for a wedding!

Hello all -
Just found this site today - Yay!

I live in Vermont and will be growing cut flowers from seed for our son's wedding. The wedding is October 1st, and most flowers are done by then .. so I am faced with a challenge I believe.

They want dahlias, zinnias, sunflowers as the main flower and I"ll be doing some fillers such as celosia, amaranth, bupleurum ..

We plan to use hoop houses to prolong the life of the flowers and to keep them safe from early fall frost. When exactly should I plant and/or start seeds? Do I start them a few weeks later than normal? Same time? ANY and ALL advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)
Patti

Patti, most important thing is to find out what growimg zone you are in. Can call local nursery, need to find out what the average last and first frost is. (oops; growing zone) . All plants mentioned are warm season annuals and shouldn't be started outdoors until after average last frost. In autumn average first frost might not be until mid oct.. Doesn't mean that it won't frost prior to avg. date but better chance. I happen to live in Colorado, outside of Denver, am in zone 5b, my ave. dates are May 15 and Oct 15. Have had last frost in spring as early as April 25 and first frost as early as Sept. 20. The avg. is just that average, mother nature has a mind of her own, lol. Good Luck, Kathy

Since you are using a hoop house, I would recommend staggering your plantings...start a new small batch of seeds at two week intervals...start a few now so you can assess the blooms and make sure that is what you want. You can germinate seeds throughout the summer once you know how long from seed to bloom...for example: you start a few now, choose the ones you want to use for the wedding, and if it takes 45 days from germination to bloom, then start some seeds 60 days ahead, 50 days ahead and 45 days ahead. That should help insure plants blooming when you want them.

I believe you're in zone 4. I don't think a hoop house will help with sunflowers. I'd call your local provider to see if sunflowers can be ordered for October. That will tell you if they expect to have sunflowers in their own greenhouses at that time of year.

I agree with themoonhowl. Alternating planting times should give you a hand up. While dahlias tend to grow tall, they also stay nice until the first frost. I'm assuming you are experienced in growing these particular flowers. Home grown flowers add a lovely touch, but you're having a lot of faith that you will have what you need for the beginning of October.

I'm in zone 6 and have successfully grown celosia pretty late as I recall. Also there are many small dahlias that are gorgeous and reach no more than 14" with the stem. Make sure the bride knows that in the event of an unpredictable late summer, there may be an alternate solution. Just for the heck of it, I think it is a lovely idea. Are you doing flowers for decorations or just bouquets?

Thank you for your replies.

Yes, we are experienced gardeners and start all of our own plants from seed. The date of October 1st has me in a bit of a panic, but I think we'll be ok. I will be staggering my plantings (thank you themoonhowl!). We are doing all of the flowers, bouquets and decorations!

If you are experienced gardeners, you may not get the exact flowers you want, but you'll certainly have a magnificent display!

Best of luck to you Patti and congratulations to your daughter. be sure to show us pics of your floral creations. Regards, Moon