Growing Orlaya (Laceflower): A Complete Profile
By Growing Home Greens Team · August 10, 2026
Orlaya, also called laceflower, looks like a finer, more refined cousin of Queen Anne’s lace, its flat, lacy white flower heads a favorite for softening a bouquet without competing with bolder blooms.
Direct-seed is the easier route
Direct-seeding is recommended, covering the seed lightly rather than burying it. Transplanting also works, started 4 to 6 weeks before planting out. Germination takes 12 to 16 days at 60-65°F. Orlaya tolerates dry soil better than a lot of cut flowers, which makes it more forgiving in a spot that dries out between waterings. Space plants 9 to 12 inches apart; mature stems reach 24 to 30 inches and may need support.
Two harvest points
For fresh arrangements, cut once about 80 percent of a flower head has opened, checking that the petals are crisp white with no hint of pollen shedding yet. For dried arrangements, wait until seed pods have formed on the head.
Orlaya has no well-established companion pairings, and nothing it needs to be kept away from. Its height and need for support make it a good fit for a trellised row in the Garden Designer, similar to ammi and other lacy cut flowers.
Source: Orlaya (Laceflower): Key Growing Information, Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Companion planting guide for Orlaya (Laceflower) · Find your planting dates
Typically viable in USDA zones 2-11. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.
Mature height: 2-2.5 ft
Method: Either: Start indoors for an earlier harvest, or direct-sow outside for less fuss. Either works.
When to plant orlaya (laceflower), by zone
Every zone orlaya (laceflower) 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 15–Apr 22 | May 13–May 20 | Aug 11–Aug 18 |
| 3a & 3b | Apr 25–May 2 | May 23–May 30 | Aug 21–Aug 28 |
| 4a & 4b | Apr 10–Apr 17 | May 8–May 15 | Aug 6–Aug 13 |
| 5a & 5b | Apr 5–Apr 12 | May 3–May 10 | Aug 1–Aug 8 |
| 6a & 6b | Mar 21–Mar 28 | Apr 18–Apr 25 | Jul 17–Jul 24 |
| 7a & 7b | Mar 6–Mar 13 | Apr 3–Apr 10 | Jul 2–Jul 9 |
| 8a & 8b | Feb 18–Feb 25 | Mar 18–Mar 25 | Jun 16–Jun 23 |
| 9a & 9b | Jan 11–Jan 18 | Feb 8–Feb 15 | May 9–May 16 |
| 10a & 10b | Dec 26–Jan 2 | Jan 23–Jan 30 | Apr 23–Apr 30 |
| 11a & 11b | Nov 27–Dec 4 | Dec 25–Jan 1 | Mar 25–Apr 1 |
Bloom dates are about 90 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 Orlaya (Laceflower) plants fit per square foot?
Spacing: 2 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-2.5 ft.
Varieties worth considering
- Straight-species orlaya (Orlaya grandiflora): Johnny's Selected Seeds sells this species plain; the flat, lacy white flower heads are the whole point, and there's no meaningful named-cultivar market beyond the species itself. (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 orlaya seeds
High Mowing Organic Seeds (each supplier's orlaya seeds)
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See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing orlaya (laceflower)" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
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Growing Orlaya (Laceflower): A finer, more refined-looking cousin of Queen Anne's lace, grown for its lacy, flat-topped white flowers in a cut-flower row.
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