What is the best stage to harvest cut flowers?
The optimal stage to harvest cut flowers varies by species…and there are so many species! The ideal harvest stage, based on maximizing the life of the flower after cutting it, is usually before a flower “peaks” or before all of the flowers of an inflorescence are open, but there are exceptions to this rule. For example, dahlias should be cut just as the flower is fully open. Fortunately, several extensive lists of flowers’ optimum developmental stage at harvest have been compiled, and two are linked here.
