Issue 07Petal Press · Austin
1800Flowers InfoNotes before the ribbon Arrangement notes
Sunflowers and zinnias on a porch table

The year

Ask for what the month already grows.

Local stems last longer because they were not forced into the wrong week. Use the season as the first filter, then the shape.

Spring tulips and ranunculus

Spring

  • Tulip while the nights are still cold
  • Ranunculus, ruffled and brief
  • Peony at the end, and not for long
Summer sunflowers

Summer

  • Zinnia, the reliable color
  • Sunflower for a porch, not a desk
  • Dahlia as soon as the fields turn
Fall dahlias and mums

Fall

  • Dahlia before frost
  • Chrysanthemum once the nights drop
  • Pods and branches when petals thin out
Winter amaryllis and evergreen

Winter

  • Amaryllis on a windowsill
  • Evergreen for December rooms
  • Rose and orchid when the fields are quiet

How to use a gap

Peony is a late-spring event. Want that plush face in October? Ask for a garden rose or a dahlia in the same color. Want tulip cheer in August? Zinnia does the bright work without pretending to be a bulb.

Imported stems exist all year, and a good shop will say so. They are fine. They are also more tired. If vase life matters — a week on a desk, a weekend guest — prefer what the region is already cutting.

Weather moves the calendar by a couple of weeks between the Gulf and the Upper Midwest. Treat the lists as a bias, not a law. The florist’s cooler is the final source.

Then keep it alive