If you are considering a cut flower garden next year, it’s not too early to start planning. Soil testing can be performed in the fall, giving you plenty of time to make any adjustments that the soil lab recommends. Healthy, well-balanced soil is the first step to a successful cutting garden, and can prevent issues arising in the growing season that may ruin your flower crop yield.

Once you have planned out where your desired cut flowers will grow, it’s time to get planting. Here in New York, we plant summer annual flowers after there is no chance of frost. Taking the time to plant in neat rows—leaving space for maintenance and early morning harvesting—will be helpful in the heat of the summer. 

After planting is done, adding mulch ensures that the soil won’t dry out too fast, and prevents weeds from taking over your garden. Being prepared with bamboo or large branches for staking will be helpful when plants start to put on growth and become floppy. You can also use netting laid horizontally to provide structure for flowers like zinnias. 

As summer kicks into high gear, supplementing the soil with organic fertilizer can be helpful. If you are growing things like dahlias, which are heavy feeders, you’ll need to give them consistent nourishment to provide the best blooms. These applications can be achieved with a liquid fertilizer mixed in watering cans or a hose-end sprayer.