The winner: Snapdragon, 96/100. Runner-up: Anthurium at 94. Lowest upkeep of the qualifiers: Black‑eyed Susan at 84.
Every flower here is scored by the same 6 published rules, using one open table of 85 flowers. No taste, no sponsors: tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made it.
The picks
The flowers that won
The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
Cut-flower pedigree: sold in most shops · Vase-life once cut: 7 to 9 · Length of the cutting window: 6 months
Flaws, not dealbreakers:no flaw on record
Deer: sometimes eaten (Rutgers C)Cat safe (listed non-toxic)
90/ 100tap for the breakdown
Cut-flower pedigree20 / 20sold in most shops
Vase-life once cut16 / 207 to 9
Length of the cutting window20 / 206 months
Habit built for a cutting row15 / 15clumping, erect
Palette for mixed bouquets15 / 154 documented
Deer pressure on the cutting patch4 / 10C
The protocol
How the score is built
6 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
Cut-flower pedigree20 pointstraded on wholesale terminals 20; grown by sold by specialist growers farms 16; garden-cuttable with no trade data 10 Read from: whether it is grown as a cut flower.
Vase-life once cut20 points10+ days in water 20; 7-9 days 16; 4-6 days 10; not yet measured 8 Read from: days it holds in plain water.
Length of the cutting window20 pointsin bloom 6+ months 20; 4-5 months 15; 2-3 months 10; a single month 5 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Habit built for a cutting row15 pointsupright, easy-to-cut stems 15; clumping habit 12; sprawling or trailing habit 7 Read from: habit form.
Palette for mixed bouquets15 points3+ documented colors 15; 2 colors 10; a single color 6 Read from: flower color.
Deer pressure on the cutting patch10 pointsRutgers A 10 down to D 1; unrated genera sit at 4, the middle of the road Read from: the Rutgers deer rating.
Not ranked here: no postharvest record documented: wilts within hours or blooms for a single day. Scores are never sponsored
and never sold. The full method ↗
The leaderboard
The top ten
The 10 highest of 40 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
Cut-flower pedigree16 / 20sold by specialist growers
Vase-life once cut16 / 207
Length of the cutting window15 / 205 months
Habit built for a cutting row15 / 15clumping, erect, mounding
Palette for mixed bouquets15 / 157 documented
Deer pressure on the cutting patch7 / 10B
Considered, not chosen
Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this job is not theirs.
no published data for vase-life once cutHydrangea macrophylla, Lavender, Irises and 23 more
no postharvest record documented: wilts within hours or blooms for a single dayBegonia, Canna Lily, Christmas Cactus and 16 more
The winner's badge
Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Snapdragon
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit a job is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
named. Nothing here is sponsored, and no score can be bought. When the table changes, every
score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
