Picking flowers from your own garden is fantastic. The crowning achievement of the past few months. And quite honestly: it's not difficult. Anyone can pick flowers to arrange in a vase later. Really anyone. But there are a few things to keep in mind. For when is it best to pick and what about "picking anxiety"? You'll find out here.
When is the best time to pick?
Let's start at the beginning: when do you pick? In an ideal situation, you pick flowers early in the morning. Then they are well waterlogged and firm. Picking in the evening is also possible, but first let the flowers hydrate for a few hours in a bucket of cold water in a cool room. They will then first soak themselves full of water and stay remarkably fresh longer. Obviously, it is better to avoid picking at the hottest time of the day. Flowers then see off and in many cases look wilted as well.
Do you suffer from "picking anxiety?
A lot of people suffer from picking anxiety. Yes, that's one thing. Not daring to cut deeply, for fear that no new flowers will appear. But the opposite is true. In just about every case, the more often you cut, the more flowers you get to see. Plucking even encourages the plant to form more side shoots and thus flowers. This is the case with cosmos, zinnia, dahlia, snapdragons and scabiosa, among others.
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In this video I give tips for picking flowers yourself. About dahlias, zinnias and much more.
Dare to cut deeply
Okay, picking is daring for now, but make sure you also dare to cut deeply. By always just plucking the stems off the flowers, you will never have really long flower stems and more importantly, you are not cutting back into an armpit of a plant and so you are not encouraging the plant to form new side shoots and thus flowers. Cut deeply, at least 20 centimeters. That seems very invasive, and it is a bit, but have faith that it will work out and you will get just more flowers as a result.
The fairy pictures of picking baskets full of flowers are to dream away, but the reality is that it makes your flowers keep less long. It's nice for the photo, but leaving your flowers out of the water for too long will cause them to wilt faster and thus make them less likely to stay fresh in a vase. When I cut, I always have a bucket of water with me. After cutting, I put the stems directly into the water. This prevents them from drying out and you will enjoy them much longer later. It's logical, isn't it, that when they no longer get moisture from the mother plant, we have to vouch for that? Leave the baskets to put eggs or vegetables in, and have a good old bucket handy when working with flowers.
Picking open or closed flowers?
With a lot of flowers, pick when they are half-open. They should already show a few petals and otherwise open completely in a vase. Sunflowers are preferably picked at this time, but snapdragons, cosmos and even scabiosa also prefer the same treatment.
Zinnias and dahlias are exceptions
But there are exceptions. The flowers of dahlias should be completely open before you pick them. They don't open much, if at all, in a vase. So don't pick them too early, and don't pick them too late, because then bees, bumblebees and butterflies will have visited them by now and they'll pass over pretty quickly. Or take zinnias. Those just get prettier and sturdier after a while. First, do the "wobble test" there. If you move the flowers back and forth, the flower stem should be firm. If the flower goes in all directions, then it's better to wait a while longer. Zinnias that are not picked too early will last ten to fourteen days.
