#4 But start the year before
A Tinder profile for Biennials, how to grow & where to buy my favourites.
If Biennials were on tinder, their profile might read something like this:
“Loves planning ahead, takes time to get ready but worth the front end trouble. Copious reliable production. No diva demands or temper tantrums. Steady, dependable and consistent. Always performs, no matter what the weather or occasion. Quality, essential material for every occasion.”
Not really an immediate ‘swipe right’.
And unfortunately, biennials often do get overlooked for something a little more sparkly. I’m here to tell you why you want to give them some thought this week, how to grow them and where to buy some of my favourites. The future you will thank you for it.
We are on # 4 of my manifesto for Growing Cut Flower. #3. Is don’t start too early. This, #4 ‘but start the year before’.
Confused? Like many elements of growing cut flowers, the contradictions are rife.
You can start too early. And you can be too late. In this case, sow biennials now to be right on time.
The main things to remember are -
These are sown in year 1, growing on all summer and planted out in the cool of the autumn in their final position.
Give them plenty of room and be prepared for them to stay there for a few years.
Biennials will flower the following spring. The oft forgotten details is that they will often flower even better the following year, when bulked up a little.
So next year, sow more for the year after. And continue to do so for a good amount of material whilst allowing the Year 2 plants to bulk up. Many biennials self sow too. After a few years, you pretty much can rely on many of the plants doing this, then you can move these into a spot on your plot or garden for an even easier life.
Sow into trays, makes sure it’s like Baby Bear’s Porridge. Not too hot, not too cold but you can pretty much sow and forget about them. Prick out, pot on if necessary ready to plant out in September. It feels so good to be that prepared and planting out next years flowers then whilst still cutting this seasons.
Some favourite biennials
Foxgloves - A classic. There are varieties that are first year flowering now but I still sow these each year. Some years are better than others and I will always be moving found ones around. I love how these do self sow gently into cracks and soften the plots. Foxglove Sutton’s Apricot
Anchusa - Proper sky blue, not brilliant as a cut flower since tricky to condition but lovely when fully open in bud vases and especially as an edible flower for cakes and drinks. Much prettier in every way than borage. Anchusa
Honesty - A must have. Great for flowers right now if you really need something to cut, but ideally, sit on your snips and wait until around mid summer when the pods are formed. Cut on a dry day and hang upside down to dry. Watch a long period drama or ideally a new series of ‘Motherland’ whilst peeling off the outer cases to reveal the most perfect sparkles for Christmas. Lunaria
Lysicmachia atropurpurea - I haven’t sown this for a while and keep forgetting (it’s in the cart now), do yourself a favour and grow this as a lovely spire for bouquets. Adding movement and a really beautiful colour to boot. Lysicmachia
Eryngium - All varieties are potential great and will come back each year, self sowing too. Smashing for hot dry borders, no need for watering and an interesting structure for arrangements. Eryngium
Violas - Or tiny pansies. Not really a traditional cut flower as often so short but again I will use these for decoration or drinks. Grow close together and water well, and you might have some much longer stems and then they really are useful. I find these so divertingly pretty. Viola
Wallflowers - Utterly gorgeous and I love the scent. These work really well with ranunculus and other spring bulbs. Again, the stems can be quite reasonably long but certainly worth growing for bud vases and short buckets. I am not sure all this concern for ultra long stems in floristry is all it’s cracked up to be. I’d rather have exquisite diminutive flowers that long cumbersome huge blooms any day. I have a few tricks for short ones anyway. That’s for another day. Wallflowers
Sweet William- The sweetest and as ubiqutous as the supermarket narcissus (don’t let me go there again) but I miss them when I don’t have them growing. Incredibly useful. For boutonnieres, flower crowns, bouquets and all sorts. So reliable and heavenly scented. I pull flowers off larger open clusters and thin them down a bit since they can be a bit of a lump in an arrangement. Or I cut before they even flower and use as sculptural interest or foliage. Essential as it happens. Sweet William
Any I have forgotten? Are you growing biennials in your spaces this year?
This is my manifesto for Growing Cut Flowers. I will be exploring this list over the this year as we arrive at each point in the list - each one helps you grow the flowers you want to.
I am absolutely loving your Manifesto!
Great advice. I started way too early last year and regretted it.