Cool-season versus warm-season cut flower lists for the Pacific Northwest

What to take away

• Pacific Northwest cut flower planting lists work best when you split crops by season instead of forcing one list to cover the whole year.
• Western Oregon and western Washington give you mild winters and early springs, so cool-season crops can hit April and May markets before most of the country.
• East of the Cascades, warm-season crops need irrigation and frost protection, and their windows start later and end sooner.
• Cool-season crops usually return less per bed than warm-season crops, but they spread revenue across more months and reduce risk.
• Buyers in Portland and Seattle pay for local stems in specific windows, and the crop list should follow those windows rather than the other way around.

What Oregon and Washington growing conditions allow

Oregon and Washington are not one growing region. The Cascade Range splits both states into a wet, mild west side and a dry, continental east side. That split decides which cut flower crops you can grow and when you can sell them.

Western Oregon, including the Willamette Valley, has cool wet winters and dry summers. Frost arrives late, often not until November, and spring comes early. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts much of the valley in zones 8a to 9a, which lets growers overwinter many cool-season crops in the ground.

Western Washington, including the Puget Sound lowlands, is cooler and cloudier than the Willamette Valley. Summers are mild, with fewer days above 85 F. That slows warm-season crops such as zinnias and dahlias, but it also means longer vase life for many stems after harvest.

Eastern Oregon and eastern Washington are different. Bend, Yakima, and the Columbia Basin see hot summers, cold winters, and low rainfall. Warm-season crops grow well there with irrigation, but the season is shorter and frost dates are less forgiving.

USDA NASS tracks floriculture and cut flower production by state through the Census of Horticultural Specialties, which is the baseline for Oregon and Washington production figures.

You can pull state-level acreage and price data from NASS state statistics and from the queryable Quick Stats database. Quick Stats Lite offers a faster regional view when you only need a few crops.

Those four sources are the ones to bookmark before you commit a bed to a crop.

Cool-season cut flower lists for the Pacific Northwest

Cool-season cut flowers germinate and bloom in cool weather. In Oregon and Washington they carry the farm from late winter into early summer, and they are the reason Pacific Northwest growers can sell local stems in April while much of the country is still frozen.

Here is the cool-season cut flower crop list for the region:

• Sweet peas: direct seed in late winter in western Oregon and Washington, bloom April to June. Fragrant, short vase life, strong farmers market seller.
• Ranunculus: plant corms in fall in zones 8 and above, bloom April to May. High value, but corms rot in poorly drained soil.
• Anemone: similar timing to ranunculus, bloom March to May. Good for mixed bouquets and wholesale.
• Stock: cool-season annual, bloom May to June. Fragrant, holds well, needs consistent moisture.
• Larkspur: direct seed in fall or late winter, bloom June to July. Excellent dried flower as well as fresh.
• Bells of Ireland: direct seed in late winter, bloom June to July. Distinctive green stems, good filler.
• Bupleurum: direct seed in early spring, bloom June to July. Light green filler, long vase life.

Bulbs and poppies round out the cool-season list. Ornamental alliums go in as fall bulbs and bloom May to June, with large heads that fetch premium prices. Tulips and daffodils are fall-planted and bloom March to May, the backbone of early spring sales in both states.

Iceland poppies go in during fall or early spring and bloom May to June, delicate and best sold locally and fast.

Cool-season crops reward early planting and steady moisture. In western Oregon and Washington, you can often succession sow sweet peas and larkspur from February through April for a longer harvest. In eastern areas, push planting back until the soil can be worked, usually March or April.

If you are weighing which cool-season crop deserves the bed, compare stem price against days to harvest. Ranunculus and tulips usually win on price per stem, while bupleurum and bells of Ireland win on volume and ease. Our guide to cut flower growing mistakes walks through that comparison crop by crop.

Warm-season cut flower lists and their market windows

Warm-season cut flowers need soil above 60 F and no frost. In the Pacific Northwest they start in June and run through September or October, depending on the crop and the side of the mountains you farm.

Here is the warm-season cut flower crop list for the region:

• Zinnias: plant after last frost, bloom July to October. The workhorse of summer bouquets. Pinch for branching and keep cutting.
• Dahlias: plant tubers after last frost, bloom August to October. High price per stem, but lift tubers in cold eastern areas.
• Sunflowers: succession sow every two weeks from May to July, bloom July to September. Fast, cheap, and heavy, so plan spacing and support.
• Cosmos: direct seed after frost, bloom July to October. Light, airy filler with a long window.
• Celosia: transplant after frost, bloom July to September. Strong color, good for dried work.
• Amaranth: direct seed or transplant after frost, bloom July to September. Long hanging stems, popular with florists.
• Basil: plant after frost, bloom July to September. Sold as foliage, not flower, and it needs heat.

Statice, strawflower, marigolds, and gladiolus fill out the rest. Statice and strawflower transplant after frost and bloom July to September, and both dry well. Marigolds are cheap to grow and steady sellers at farm stands. Gladiolus go in as corms from April to June and bloom July to September, a wholesale staple that needs staking in wind.

Warm-season market windows by month look like this in the region:

Month	Western Oregon and Washington	Eastern Oregon and Washington
June	Zinnias, cosmos, early sunflowers	Late June start for zinnias and cosmos
July	Peak zinnia, sunflower, celosia	Peak sunflower, zinnia, statice
August	Peak dahlia, amaranth, gladiolus	Peak dahlia, gladiolus, marigold
September	Dahlias, zinnias, strawflower	Dahlias, strawflower, late sunflowers
October	Dahlias until frost, late zinnias	Season ends with first hard frost

If you are choosing between two summer earners, our cut flower farm case study breaks down revenue per bed and labor per stem.

Comparing cool-season and warm-season returns per bed

A bed is the unit that matters. Rent, irrigation, and labor are roughly fixed per bed, so the crop that returns the most per bed per season is the one that pays.

Cool-season crops usually produce fewer stems per bed but sell at higher prices early in the year. Tulips, ranunculus, and anemone can bring premium prices in April when local supply is thin. Sweet peas and stock sell well at farmers markets but have shorter vase life, which limits wholesale.

Warm-season crops produce more stems per bed over a longer window, but prices fall in the middle of summer when everyone has zinnias. Dahlias and specialty celosia hold price better than sunflowers, which are cheap and heavy to ship.

Here is a worked example for one 100-foot bed in the Willamette Valley, using conservative farm-gate prices:

• Ranunculus: 800 stems at $1.00 = $800, harvest April to May.
• Zinnias: 1,500 stems at $0.60 = $900, harvest July to October.
• Dahlias: 600 stems at $1.75 = $1,050, harvest August to October.
• Sunflowers: 1,200 stems at $0.50 = $600, harvest July to September.

The warm-season bed usually wins on gross revenue, but the cool-season bed spreads cash across spring and reduces the risk of a single summer heat event wiping out the crop. Many Pacific Northwest farms run both and use the cool-season income to fund summer labor.

Succession planting changes the math. If you sow zinnias every two weeks, you can keep the bed in production longer and avoid a glut. Our succession planting and season extension guide covers the timing intervals that work in this region.

Overwintering and early spring harvest in western Oregon and Washington

Western Oregon and western Washington are two of the few places in the United States where you can overwinter cut flower crops in the ground. That is the region's biggest competitive advantage.

Fall planting is the key. Ranunculus corms, anemone corms, tulip bulbs, and daffodil bulbs all go in the ground from October to November in zones 8 and above. They root before winter, then push growth in February and March.

Sweet peas can be fall-sown in western Oregon and Washington for the earliest blooms. Fall-sown sweet peas usually beat spring-sown ones by three to four weeks, which matters when you are trying to hit April markets.

Protection helps. Low tunnels and row cover keep foliage clean and speed early growth. They also protect against the occasional hard freeze, which can still happen in the Willamette Valley and Puget Sound.

East of the Cascades, overwintering is riskier. You can overwinter bulbs, but you need mulch and sometimes irrigation before the ground freezes. Corms and tender perennials usually will not survive, so treat them as annuals.

Early spring harvest starts with daffodils and tulips in March, then ranunculus and anemone in April, then sweet peas and stock in May. That sequence is the backbone of the spring market in both states. Understanding cut flower crop types helps you plan which ones to overwinter and which to replant each year.

Market windows from April through October

Market windows in the Pacific Northwest are set by local supply, not by the calendar alone. When local stems are scarce, prices are higher. When everyone has zinnias, prices drop.

Here is the month-by-month window for the region:

• April: tulips, daffodils, ranunculus, anemone, early sweet peas. Local supply is thin, so prices are strong.
• May: sweet peas, stock, alliums, late tulips. Mother's Day is the single biggest cut flower week of the spring.
• June: larkspur, bells of Ireland, bupleurum, early zinnias and cosmos. Supply builds quickly.
• July: zinnias, sunflowers, celosia, statice, amaranth. Peak volume, softer prices.
• August: dahlias, gladiolus, marigolds, strawflower. Dahlia prices hold better than most.

September brings dahlias, zinnias, strawflower, and late sunflowers, with back-to-school and early fall weddings driving demand. October runs on dahlias until frost, late zinnias, and dried statice and strawflower, and the season ends with the first hard frost.

Wholesale buyers in Portland and Seattle often book spring and fall weddings months ahead. Retail florists buy weekly. Farm stands and farmers markets sell the widest range but need steady volume.

If you want to test whether a shorter list can still cover the year, our cut flower garden checklist shows which four crops carried a full season.

Matching crop lists to Portland and Seattle buyers

Portland and Seattle buyers are not identical. Portland has a strong farmers market culture and a large wedding industry. Seattle has more tech money, more corporate events, and a wholesale market that moves volume.

Portland buyers tend to favor local, seasonal, and unusual stems. Sweet peas, ranunculus, and dahlias sell well. Farm stands and market booths reward color and fragrance.

Seattle buyers, especially florists and event designers, want consistency and long vase life. Zinnias, dahlias, gladiolus, and statice fit that demand. Wholesale accounts want stems graded and bunched to a standard.

Both cities pay a premium for local stems in the off months. April tulips and ranunculus from western Oregon and Washington can beat imported stems on freshness and story.

Match your crop list to your buyer. If you sell mostly at farmers markets, grow a wide cool-season list plus zinnias and dahlias. If you sell wholesale, narrow the list to crops that grade well and ship well.

USDA NASS data helps you see where production is concentrated and how prices move. Use those numbers to check your price assumptions before you plant.

Common questions

What is the difference between cool-season and warm-season cut flowers? Cool-season cut flowers grow and bloom in cool weather, usually spring and early summer. Warm-season cut flowers need warm soil and no frost, so they bloom from summer into fall.

Can I grow dahlias in western Washington? Yes, but they start later and bloom later than in western Oregon. Plant tubers after the last frost and expect peak bloom in August and September.

When should I plant ranunculus in Oregon? Plant corms in October or November in western Oregon for April and May bloom. In eastern Oregon, plant in early spring instead because winter cold can kill the corms.

What sells best in April in the Pacific Northwest? Tulips, daffodils, ranunculus, and anemone sell best in April. Local supply is thin, so prices are usually strong at farmers markets and to florists.

Do I need irrigation east of the Cascades? Yes. Eastern Oregon and eastern Washington are dry, so warm-season crops need consistent irrigation. Cool-season crops also benefit from irrigation in spring.

How many crops should a small farm grow? Most small farms grow eight to fifteen crops to cover the season. A tighter list of four to six dependable earners can work if you sell to a steady wholesale or event account.