Growing Clarkia (Farewell-to-Spring): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Clarkia, also called mountain garland or farewell-to-spring, is a silky-petaled cut flower with a genuine cool-weather requirement: too much heat after germination produces weak, spindly stems instead of the sturdy ones a good cut flower needs.
Cool conditions are non-negotiable
Transplant, sowing seed 4 weeks before planting out, covered just a sixteenth of an inch deep. Direct-seeding as soon as the soil can be worked also works, pressed into the soil at the same shallow depth. Germination takes 5 to 10 days at 65-70°F. After germination, seedlings need cool conditions, 60-65°F during the day and 50°F at night, and should never exceed 75°F; warmer temperatures during development are what cause the weak stems. Thin to 6 to 12 inches apart.
Support helps
A horizontal trellis or similar support keeps the stems straight for cutting, since the plant can flop without it.
Harvest early in the spike
Cut stems as soon as the lowest blooms begin opening. Older blooms drop off the stem within about 5 days, but the remaining unopened buds continue to open in the vase, so an early harvest still delivers a full display. Vase life runs 7 to 10 days.
Clarkia has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. At 4 plants per square foot, it’s a good cool-season cut-flower row in the Garden Designer, best timed for spring rather than summer heat.
Source: Clarkia: Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Clarkia (Farewell-to-Spring) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 1-3 ft
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Either works.
When to plant clarkia (farewell-to-spring), by zone
Every zone clarkia (farewell-to-spring) grows in. Pick your zone in the header and it will be highlighted here. Each zone links to its full page.
| Zone | Start indoors | Sow or plant out | Bloom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a & 2b | Apr 22–Apr 29 | Apr 29–May 6 | Jul 13–Jul 20 |
| 3a & 3b | May 2–May 9 | May 9–May 16 | Jul 23–Jul 30 |
| 4a & 4b | Apr 17–Apr 24 | Apr 24–May 1 | Jul 8–Jul 15 |
| 5a & 5b | Apr 12–Apr 19 | Apr 19–Apr 26 | Jul 3–Jul 10 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 28–Apr 4 | Apr 4–Apr 11 | Jun 18–Jun 25 |
| 7a & 7b | Mar 13–Mar 20 | Mar 20–Mar 27 | Jun 3–Jun 10 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 25–Mar 4 | Mar 4–Mar 11 | May 18–May 25 |
| 9a & 9b | Jan 18–Jan 25 | Jan 25–Feb 1 | Apr 10–Apr 17 |
| 10a & 10b | Jan 2–Jan 9 | Jan 9–Jan 16 | Mar 25–Apr 1 |
| 11a & 11b | Dec 4–Dec 11 | Dec 11–Dec 18 | Feb 24–Mar 3 |
Bloom dates are about 75 days after the sow or plant-out date, not after starting seeds indoors.
Zone 2 sows before zone 3 here, which looks wrong and is not. USDA zones rank winter cold, not season length, and zone 2 is mostly interior Alaska, where hard winters come with warm summers. More on what a zone measures.
See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →
How many Clarkia (Farewell-to-Spring) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 4 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 1-3 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- 'Grace Mix' clarkia: Johnny's Selected Seeds recommends this bright mix as a productive option with sturdy stems, one of their standard clarkia offerings for cut-flower growing. (source)
- 'Elegant Salmon' clarkia (best for: single-color cutting): Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this as vibrant and productive with sturdy stems, a single-color option where a mix isn't wanted. (source)
- 'Grace Shell Pink' clarkia (best for: pale color, silky bloom): Johnny's Selected Seeds lists this as producing silky blooms on sturdy stems, a paler pink option from the same Grace series as the mix above. (source)
Why each variety is listed comes from the source shown next to it. We haven't grown these ourselves yet, so treat this as a research-backed starting point, not a personal endorsement. The buy links are separate from those sources: they go to seed suppliers that sell that exact variety, and we may earn a commission on some of them.
Where to buy clarkia seeds
None of the seed suppliers we list carries clarkia seeds right now. A local garden center or a specialty seed house is the place to look.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page also go to other retailers we may earn a commission from as an affiliate, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products with a clear consensus of positive, independent reviews, or ones we bought and use ourselves. Each item on our gear page says which.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing clarkia (farewell-to-spring)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
%3A%20A%20silky-petaled%20cut%20flower%20that%20needs%20cool%20growing%20conditions%20after%20germination%3B%20too%20much%20heat%20produces%20weak%2C%20spindly%20stems.)
Pin this for later
Growing Clarkia (Farewell-to-Spring): A silky-petaled cut flower that needs cool growing conditions after germination; too much heat produces weak, spindly stems.
Save to Pinterest