Straw Flowers In Hanging Baskets

Strawflower is a tall herb grown for its yellow, orange, red, or white flowers. It is cultivated as an annual— that is, for one growing season. However, the straw-flower is actually a perennial and thus can live for more than one year. The flowers are dried and used in winter bouquets. The strawflower belongs to a group of plants called everlastings.

All everlastings have flowers that last a long time when dried. The strawflower originated in Australia, and is now grown in Europe and America. It grows 3 feet (91 centimeters) tall.Scientific classification. The strawflower belongs to the composite family, Asteraceae or Compositae. Its scientific name is Helichrysum bracteatum.

For something a little different but certainly dramatic consider planting a hanging basket of Strawflowers.Planted alone or mixed in with other annuals strawflower look great and perform well in hanging baskets and hanging planters.

Native to the Australian Outback, Strawflower is a flower with many names. It is also known as a Paper Daisy or an Everlasting Daisy.Botanically they are called Bracteantha bracteata or Helichrysum bracteatum.Don’t despair if you can’t find these plants at your garden centre they are easy to grow from seed – see below.

Great in hanging baskets and excellent as a dried flower for floral arrangements you may become hooked on this great plant.Strawflowers like warm, dry conditions so hanging baskets are ideal for them.While Strawflowers grow best in full, direct sun they also can be grown in semi shade / morning sun positions.

Strawflowers grow to a height ranging between eight and thirty-six inches and will spill over the edges of your hanging basket or hanging planter.Strawflowers are available in dwarf varieties as well as taller varieties – we recommend the choosing taller varieties for your hanging baskets.

We often see instructions “Water occasionally” or “will withstand drought” – we recommend to water well, then to let your hanging basket just dry out before watering it again.

While your strawflower will survive drought conditions it will shrivel up and take time to recover - and your basket will not look great.

For the healthy happy plants, Strawflowers need moist, but well drained soil, they don’t like “wet feet” nor do they do well left without water for several days.

For large flowers and plenty of them - Strawflowers should be fertilized every other week with a low phosphorus fertilizer.

To keep your hanging basket of Strawflowers looking their best you must feed them and most important you must deadhead the flowers regularly to keep the plant(s) looking good.

Deadheading actually encourages continuous blooms.Strawflowers have a long blooming period, from the middle of summer until the first frost.Consider growing strawflowers in your hanging basket if you want annual flowers that will draw lots of attention from your friends and family.

The colors of strawflowers are unique and extremely vivid so your baskets will draw lots of comments.Strawflowers are available in various shades of yellow, orange, tan, red, pink, purple, creamy white and also available in unique bi-colors.

One Gardener wrote of Strawflowers.”The colorful blooms of strawflowers shimmer in the sunlight, and they appear to be coated by fine satin varnish.”

“The beautiful blooms of strawflowers are offset by narrow green leaves on tall graceful stems. The leaves of some varieties of strawflowers are grayish green and extremely eye-catching”.

Yes it is true people love strawflowers for both their lovely foliage as well as the beauty of their brilliant annual blooms.Strawflowers have an added bonus - they work very well as a dried flower.

For dried flower arrangements it is often recommended that Strawflowers should be cut just as they begin to open, then dried head down, hanging by the stem in a dry, shaded area for a couple of weeks.

For the brightest colors hang your Strawflowers upside down in a dark and well-ventilated place.
After drying take them, untie the flowers and use them in floral arrangements in a position away from direct sunlight.

As they tend to be brittle – often their bright flowers as used as in the photo above.
Propagating Strawflower from Seed.Strawflowers are easy to grow from seed. So if you’re searching for strawflowers to grow in your hanging baskets and can’t find any don’t despair - grow them by seed.