Flowers to Grow for Colorful Dried Stems
My daughter had a teacher who loved to say that cut flowers were wasteful and sad since all they did was die. My gift to her at the end of the year? A big bouquet of colorful dried flowers in hopes of brightening her outlook on life and changing her mind.
It’s true, flowers die. But not all of them die the same, and by growing flowers that retain their color and form for many years to come if dried properly, you can be sure that your work in growing them will brighten your home for many seasons!
So, today I’m sharing my top four dry-able flowers to grow, with the good news that Virginia is a place they easily thrive because of their love for the heat.
Also, all of these are highly deer resistant once they’re in bloom. Just be sure to give them some form of protection (netting/organic deer deterrent/barking dogs) while they’re starting to grow since it’s the blooms the deer don’t like…the green foliage they go for.
Oh, and if all of that wasn’t enough, they are all cut and come again flowers. Meaning that the more you cut stems or deadhead, they more flowers they’ll produce!
Below is a quick rundown of these lovely flowers (and if you want to learn more, be sure to follow along on Instagram @liliharpflowers to see these flowers in action this season!)
Statice
Truth be told, statice isn’t my personal favorite in bouquets because its stems are incredibly straight and the tops are flat, making it tricky to arrange with if you prefer movement like I do. It’s also a bit prickly when harvesting. BUT I grow it year after year because its colors are vibrant when dried and they make excellent pieces for winter wreaths!
For my fellow Virginia growers: This is one plant you should start growing right now (March) indoors and can put outside in just a couple of weeks. Statice is very quick to germinate, and since it’s fairly hardy once it’s about 2-3 inches tall, you can plant it outdoors before the last frost with a frost cover on it. That will allow the roots to start getting strong so the plants can grow quickly once warm weather is here to stay!
Strawflower
Strawflower is the most fascinating flower and an immediate conversation piece in the gardens on in bouquets. They have multiple layers of papery bracts that open during the day and close during the evenings. They also close when water hits them! There are multiple shades of this flower available and I’ve yet to find a color of them that I don’t like.
Celosia
Celosia is one of the easiest flowers to grow in Virginia: scattering its microscopic black seeds along the surface of soil and keeping it moist is all you need to do to see them germinate quickly and grow into the most beautiful different plumes and spikes (depending on which variety you choose to grow).
Celosia is grown as an annual and technically doesn’t overwinter, but it reseeds readily. Which means that once the heat comes back, you’ll most likely find a random celosia plant pop up around where you grew it last year. OR, if you want it to come back without doing anything, you can let it go to seed and shake the stems around when you remove them in the winter. In my experience, you’re guaranteed another patch.
Gomphrena
Gomphrena reminds me of tiny cotton balls sitting atop wiry stems, and it produces so many stems per plant that it can be hard to keep up with the harvesting here at the farm! I’ll think I’ve cut every possibly stem during morning harvest, and yet by sunset, the whole row is in full bloom again.
This is typically a low growing plant, so if you’re looking for an annual to serve as a border in your landscaping, this is a great one for that! In fact, on my trip to Colonial Williamsburg last fall, I discovered this was widely used within the Governor’s mansion landscaping.
I should also mention that is comes in more colors than white! Salmon is one of my personal favorites.