Dried Flower Planting Calendar: Timing Your Crops for Profit

Successful dried flower production hinges on precise timing. Unlike fresh-cut operations where harvest windows compress into narrow periods, dried flower farming demands strategic succession planting to maintain consistent inventory and capture premium pricing throughout the year. This calendar approach transforms sporadic harvests into predictable revenue streams.

Understanding Growth Cycles for Dried Flower Production

Dried flower crops fall into three distinct timing categories that shape your planting calendar. Annual varieties like statice, strawflower, and celosia complete their cycle in one season, requiring succession sowings every 2-3 weeks from last frost through mid-summer. Biennials such as money plant and bells of Ireland need fall planting for following-year harvest. Perennials including yarrow, lavender, and pearly everlasting establish over multiple seasons but provide reliable annual cuts once mature.

Most commercial dried flower operations allocate 60% of production space to fast-turnover annuals, 25% to perennials for baseline inventory, and 15% to specialty biennials that command higher prices. This ratio provides cash flow flexibility while building long-term productive capacity.

Spring Planting Schedule: March Through May

Early Spring Sowings (6-8 Weeks Before Last Frost)

Start cool-season varieties indoors during late winter. Larkspur, bells of Ireland, and nigella tolerate light frost and benefit from early establishment. Direct sow these crops 4-6 weeks before your last frost date in prepared beds. Soil temperatures above 45°F trigger germination, though growth remains slow until consistent 60°F days arrive.

Strawflower and statice transplants started indoors 6-8 weeks early produce harvestable stems 2-3 weeks sooner than direct-seeded crops. This timing advantage captures early-season wedding demand when dried flower prices peak.

Late Spring Succession (Last Frost Through May)

After frost danger passes, begin weekly or bi-weekly succession plantings of your primary production varieties:

• Celosia: Plant every 2 weeks through June for continuous August-October harvest
• Globe amaranth: Succession plant through early June for September-frost harvest
• Strawflower: Final planting by May 15 in most zones for adequate bloom before frost
• Statice: Tolerates heat; succession plant through mid-June

Each succession planting should occupy 8-10% of your total annual production space for that variety, ensuring harvest windows overlap without overwhelming processing capacity.

Summer Planting: June Through August

Heat-Tolerant Varieties

Summer months suit warm-season species and fall harvest planning. Celosia thrives in heat and germinates readily in warm soil. Plant final celosia successions by July 1 for October harvest before hard frost. Gomphrena (globe amaranth) planted through mid-July produces well into November in zones 6-7.

Fall Harvest Preparation

July plantings of fast-maturing annuals like ammobium and xerochrysum time perfectly for September-October harvest when wedding and event demand resurges after summer. These late plantings also avoid peak Japanese beetle pressure that damages mid-summer blooms.

Direct sow larkspur in late August for overwintering in zones 7 and warmer. These plants establish root systems before dormancy and flower heavily the following May, filling the gap before current-year plantings mature.

Fall Planting: September Through November

Biennial Establishment

September represents prime planting time for biennials. Money plant (Lunaria) sown in early September establishes vigorous rosettes before winter and produces signature seed pods by June. This harvest timing fills a crucial gap in dried flower availability.

Fall-planted sweet Annie (Artemisia annua) in zones 6-8 overwinters as small plants and reaches 4-6 feet by July, yielding fragrant foliage when few other dried materials are available. Plant 18 inches apart in blocks for efficient harvest.

Perennial Division and Transplanting

Divide established yarrow, tansy, and sea holly clumps in September-October. Fall division allows root establishment during cool, moist weather. Transplants experience less stress than spring-moved perennials and bloom fully their first season.

Winter Planning and Indoor Production

Greenhouse Succession

Heated greenhouse space enables winter production of select dried flowers. Statice grows well in 55-65°F greenhouse conditions, producing harvestable stems 10-12 weeks from transplant. Stagger plantings every 3 weeks from November through February for March-May harvest when field production hasn't begun.

Seed Starting Schedules

January through March focuses on seed starting for spring transplants. Maintain detailed records of seeding dates, germination rates, and days-to-harvest for each variety. This data refines subsequent years' calendars and identifies your most profitable crops.

Many farmers selling through platforms like CuzHens Market find that detailed planting records help communicate accurate availability windows to customers, building trust and enabling pre-orders that guarantee sales.

Harvest Window Optimization

The goal of calendar-based planting is overlapping harvest windows that maintain consistent product flow without overwhelming labor capacity. A well-designed calendar ensures you're harvesting something every week from June through October, with greenhouse production extending shoulder seasons.

Track these metrics weekly:

• Stems harvested by variety
• Labor hours per 100 stems
• Processing time from cut to bundled
• Storage space utilization

Adjust subsequent plantings when harvest volumes exceed processing capacity or gaps appear in availability.

Common Questions

How many succession plantings do I need for continuous harvest? Most annuals require 6-8 succession plantings spaced 2 weeks apart to maintain 12-16 weeks of continuous harvest. Fast-maturing varieties like celosia need more frequent successions than slower statice.

Can I direct sow all dried flower varieties? Many varieties direct sow successfully, but transplants of strawflower, celosia, and statice establish faster and produce earlier harvests. Reserve direct sowing for large-scale plantings where transplant costs become prohibitive.

When should I stop succession planting in fall? Calculate backward from your average first frost date. Most annuals need 75-90 days from transplant to harvest. In zone 6 with October 15 frost, final plantings occur by mid-July.

How do I adjust this calendar for my specific zone? Use your last spring frost and first fall frost as anchor points. Shift all dates accordingly, maintaining the same intervals between successions. Zones 8-10 can extend both ends of the growing season significantly.