Lovely Long Stems – and how to grow them!

Long stemmed flowers are sought-after by floral artists, but those who are less adept at flower arranging long for them even more! This is because long stemmed cut flowers are so much easier and more forgiving to work with. Although these special blooms won’t appear in your garden as if by magic, producing them isn’t too difficult once you understand the secrets to growing them. In the tips below, we share with you some of the techniques professional growers use to produce the flowers everyone wants for their vase.

Crowded house

Every plant craves light, and will do whatever it takes to find it. When you allow your garden ornamentals plenty of space, they don’t have to struggle to reach the light, and happily bush out in all directions. When you grow plants closer together, they have to work hard to find the sun, and in doing so, their foliage (and accompanying flower stems) are forced to stretch up and up. The greater the stretch, the longer the flower stems! Note: when ‘crowding,’ plant the same varieties together, as each will have its own maximum height, and shorter plants can easily be crowded out by ones that grow naturally taller.

Topple-proof

When grown in close proximity, flowering plants will naturally support each other, but only up to a point. After that, they will topple, and their blooms will soon be spoiled. There is even the danger fungal disease will set in as air flow is shut out by cascading foliage. To curtail toppling, cut flower growers provide support by suspending Garden support netting over their plantings, approximately 30cm above the ground. This should be done as soon as possible after planting out seedlings, or if sowing directly into the ground, as soon as seedlings are 10cm high.

Going up!

Climbing plants (such as sweet pea) grown for cut flower use, require support at an early stage if their stems are not to become distorted. This can be provided in the form of vertical trellis (soft string trellis makes for easier picking than rigid trellis). It is best if the trellis is in place before transplanting or seed sowing so the ground is not compressed while erecting the structure. When constructing a trellis, check details regarding the height the climber will grow to, and make provisions for this. Otherwise, flower stems will become unshapely when they reach the top and start to cascade.

Variety is everything

Some flowering plants (Sweet pea ‘Multiflora Gigantica’  and the large Pink, ‘Dianthus superbus,’ for example), are naturally suited to providing longer stems. Read seed catalogues carefully, and seek the best varieties for cutting, and also for growing in your region. Plants (such as statice, archillea, and lupin) which send up multiple growth points from their base (as opposed to those that produce a single stem, such as sunflowers, foxglove, and hollyhock), are also favourites for providing longer stems. The multiple growth points act as natural ‘crowding’ which encourages stems to lengthen.

Long-stemmed bulbs

Flowering plants which appear early in spring are often short in stem-stature. This includes some of our loveliest flowering bulbs. But there are still ways to coax a longer stem from them. Chilling bulbs in the fridge prior to planting is one trick. Pop the bulbs (in a breathable mesh or paper bag) into the door or onto a lower shelf of the fridge, in early April, ready for planting in early May. Check the temperature of your fridge (which should be set at 3-4°C) because you do not want to freeze your bulbs!

When picking bulbs, it is possible to increase the length of the stem by 3-4cm simply by using your fingers to probe down into the soil around the base of the foliage. Feel for the very base of the stem, and pull straight up on it to break it off.

Long stems are not just for florists. Learn to grow your own long-stemmed flowers, and enjoy the freedom they bring to your floral arranging.