The Cut Flower Podcast

Mastering Cut Flower Growing Across Climate Zones

• Roz Chandler • Season 1 • Episode 145

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Text Agony Aunt Roz with your Cutflower Questions.

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In this episode of the Cut Flower Podcast, Roz discusses the importance of understanding climate zones in cut flower growing. She emphasizes that successful flower growing relies on core techniques rather than strict adherence to climate zones. Rosalind encourages listeners to observe their plants and adapt techniques to their specific conditions, rather than feeling limited by their climate. The episode also highlights the value of online master classes for growers worldwide, regardless of their location.


Takeaways


  • Successful cut flower growing is built on techniques, not zones.
  • Climate zones are a description, not a rule book.
  • Your season will never look like mine, and that's okay.
  • Observation is your superpower in gardening.
  • Trust your garden and your observations over online advice.
  • You do not need a UK climate to succeed with UK methods.
  • Techniques create success; climate just sets the pace.
  • Adapt techniques to your specific conditions for better results.
  • Don't let climate zones intimidate you from starting.
  • Pay constant attention to your plants and their needs.


Rosalind Chandler (00:00)
Hello and welcome to the Cut Flower Podcast. If you're a regular listener, thank you.

And if this is the first time, I hope that you will continue to join us. In January, we do something a little bit different. do some short episodes and we talk about the various reasons that you would grow cut flowers. So we talk, for instance, about growing them for weddings and events. We talk about the top tips for growing cut flowers. We talk about mental and physical wellbeing in growing cut flowers. And we talk about whether you want to do it as a side hustle or whether you want to actually become a flower farmer.

And today we're going to be talking about something about coping with different climate zones in cut flower growing. And just to let you know that in January we run three free online master classes within the Facebook group and they are at eight o'clock in the evening UK time. And we welcome people from all over the world. Last year we had six and a half thousand people join us. So I hope that you will join us in the Facebook group. It's full of resources, has downloads, has points

you to the right podcasts for the right subjects. And it talks, for instance, about coping with different climate zones in cut flower growing, which is something I'm asked about a lot. So let's dive in. The question is usually some version I get this will this work where I live, or but I'm in a different climate zone to you.

Now if you're listening to the UK, stay with me. And if you're listening to the US, Australia, Europe or anywhere else, this one is especially for you. Because today I want to talk about climate zones, how much they matter and honestly how much they don't.

We have climate zone in the UK, of course, from the very north of Scotland, the Isles of Scotland, all the way down to the Cornish Scilly Islands. We have different climate zones. So it's applicable to us as in the UK as it is to other places in the world. So firstly, let me say this really clearly. I see you if you're growing cut flowers somewhere very different than the UK. I know many of you are. You're growing in much hotter summers. You're dealing with humidity. I can barely imagine. You're facing extreme cold

heat, drought or very short seasons and it's completely valid to wonder whether advice from a UK grower like me applies to you. But here's the big reframe and I want to offer today. Successful cut flower growing is built on techniques not on zones. Climate zones are a description not a rule book. So climate zones can be helpful but they can also stop people before they even start. I see growers afraid to sow because the book says zone 8. Overthinking dates instead of observing conditions and feeling bad

behind because someone online is weeks ahead. And comparison is one of the biggest confidence killers in growing. Your season will never look like mine and mine will never look like yours. And that's not a problem. It's just true. I've worked with people all from across the world, people who have joined our courses, Seed to Vase which we run every year from Australia, New Zealand, and we've just turned it on its head. Their season is the opposite of ours. We've worked with people across the whole of the states.

we look at the different climate zones. This year I had somebody come and visit me on one of my flower retreats in the summer from Texas where we were running a flower farming retreat and it was wonderful that she came to join us. So please do not feel intimidated about climate zones.

The core principle is that let's just talk about what this is what actually matters. No matter where you grow success comes down to the same core principles. Soil preparation, sowing methods, protection, succession, observation and response. So let's go over those again. Soil preparation, sowing methods, protection, succession, observation and response. Those things don't change anywhere in the

What changes is our timing. Think of it like cooking. The recipe is the same but the oven temperature could be different.

So let's make this even more practical. Let's look at all the practical examples. So sowing seeds, whether you're in the UK or California, seeds need warmth to germinate, light or darkness, depending on the type, consistent moisture, not saturation. The technique is the same and the calendar date is irrelevant. One of you might sow in February under lights, another might sow in April direct. It's the same method, but different moment in time.

Protection number two is universal. Everyone protects crops just for different things. We protect from the cold wind and wet. You might protect from heat, sunscorch or humidity. Netting, shade cloth, tunnels, fleece, they're all tools, not climate specific solutions. Protection is about reducing stress on the plants and stress looks different in every climate. Successional sowing, this one is huge. Successional sowing isn't about dates, it's about continuity. If it's too hot, you pause. If it's too cold,

hold you wait and if it's perfect you sow again. Your flowers don't know what zone they're in, they respond to the conditions that they're actually given.

Observation is your superpower. This might be the most important part of the episode. The best growers I know anywhere in the world are not following charts. They are watching soil temperatures, night temperatures, day length, plant behaviour. They know when a plant is happy and they know when it's stressed. And that skill comes from paying attention, not thinking about the zone. I'd rather you trust your garden, walking around it than Google.

Of course we've got climate change and things are moving as well so we need to just be paying very constant attention to what's going on.

I wanted to say this very clearly, especially if you're ever hesitant to join one of our online master classes because our three online master classes on the 22nd, 23rd and 26th, our free master classes, you might be hesitant to join. You do not need a UK climate to succeed with UK taught methods. What I teach is how to read plants, how to plant crops, how to adjust and how to recover when things go wrong. And these skills travel beautifully. And that's why I have growers all over the world succeeding, not because they copy dates, but because they understand why

we do the things we do. So if you take one thing from today, I hope it's the techniques that create success. Climate just sets the pace. So when I hear, will this work where I live? Perhaps we could change that to How can I adapt this to my conditions? Because when you understand the principles, you're never stuck. Wherever you're growing, you belong in this conversation all about growing cut flowers. And thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode. And I really sincerely hope you will join

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