Flowers › Cress
❀ Filler · Summer to Fall
Michigan Cress
Cress brings the loose, airy green that ties a bouquet together, sprays of tiny disk-shaped pods that catch the light and soften every hard edge in the arrangement.
Seasonal Availability
About Cress
Cress is a filler stem grown not for a flower but for its clouds of tiny, coin-shaped green seed pods that run along branching, well-behaved stems. Cut while the pods are still fresh and apple green, it reads as light and breezy, the kind of textural greenery that fills the gaps in a bouquet without ever fighting the flowers for attention. Left to mature, the same stems age to warm gold, pink, and bronze, which makes cress a favorite for fall wreaths and dried work.
The cress our farmers grow for the vase is ornamental garden cress, Lepidium sativum, a fast-growing member of the mustard family with roots in western Asia rather than the Michigan landscape. It is not a Michigan native, so we do not pretend otherwise, but it grows quickly and happily in our fields and has become a workhorse filler for local growers who supply specialty cut-flower buckets.
Because our collective is made up of Michigan member farmers, the cress you pick up was cut just down the road and not trucked across the country. That short trip from field to barn means firmer stems and pods that hold their fresh green longer, whether you are building a DIY bucket yourself or asking our designers to fold it into a custom arrangement.
Cress at a Glance
In season (MI)
Midsummer through October
Colors
Apple green, aging to gold, pink, and bronze
Stem length
20 to 36 inches
Best for
Bouquet filler, textural greenery, fall wreaths, mixed DIY buckets, and dried arrangements
How to buy
Requested in a DIY bucket, or custom design
Forms & Varieties
Growers offer a handful of cress selections that differ mostly in pod shape and stem length. Here are the types you are most likely to see on our tables.
Green Bell / Green Dragon
Tall, heavily branched stems packed with round, apple-green disks, one of the most productive filler cress types.
Persian cress
Airy, sturdy branches of tiny silvery-green pods that read like a fine, delicate haze in a bouquet.
Wrinkled Crinkled
A textural selection with ruffled, crinkled pods that add extra movement and interest up close.
Beaded types
Slender stems strung with small, evenly spaced pods that fall into a soft cascade.
Matured cress
The same stems left on the plant longer, aged to gold, pink, and bronze for autumn and dried work.
Care & Vase Life
- Expect 7 to 10 days in the vase for fresh green stems; recut at an angle and strip any foliage that would sit below the waterline.
- Change the water every two days and rinse the vase, since cress is a heavy drinker and can cloud water quickly.
- Keep arrangements cool and out of direct sun to hold the pods at their freshest green for longer.
- To dry cress, bundle a few stems and hang them upside down in a warm, dark, airy spot for a week or two.
- Once dried, the pods last indefinitely, so save mature stems for fall wreaths and lasting arrangements.
When We Have Cress
Cress comes on through the heart of the Michigan season, filling buckets from midsummer once the first sowings mature and carrying on through October. Because it can be cut at different stages, growers pull fresh green stems for summer bouquets and let later plantings ripen to gold and bronze for fall design and drying. Supply shifts week to week with successive sowings and the weather, and every stem is grown by our member farmers across the region and cut fresh for pickup at the barn.
Availability shifts week to week with the Michigan season, so colors and varieties vary. Reserve ahead for events, and check the shop for what our farmers have cut this week.
How to Get Cress
Request cress in a DIY bucket
Reserve a DIY bucket and request cress to arrange yourself, perfect for weddings, events, or filling your home. Order ahead and pick up at the barn.
Reserve a DIY bucketBuy cress in the shop
When cress are in season, you can buy them straight from our online shop. It’s especially good value if you’re a wholesale buyer member.
Visit the shopLet us design it for you
Prefer it done for you? Our floral designers create custom, cress-forward arrangements and full wedding and event work. Pickup is at the barn; buyer members can also arrange local delivery.
Request floral designCress FAQs
Is cress a flower or a filler?
It is a filler. Cress is grown for its airy sprays of tiny green seed pods rather than a bloom, and it is used as textural greenery to fill and soften a bouquet.
How long does cut cress last in a vase?
Fresh green stems hold about 7 to 10 days with a clean cut and fresh water. Stems cut at the mature stage can also be dried and then last indefinitely.
Can I dry cress at home?
Yes. Bundle a few stems and hang them upside down in a warm, dark, airy spot for a week or two, and the pods will hold their shape for wreaths and dried arrangements.
Do you sell cress by the bucket?
Yes. Cress is a bucket-base filler, so you can reserve a DIY bucket to arrange yourself, or ask our designers to work it into a custom piece.
Pairs Well With
BupleurumFiller · June through August
Ammi (Dara & Green Mist)Filler · July through September
NigellaFlower · June through August
Bells of IrelandFiller · July through September
AtriplexFoliage · July through September
DillFiller · July through SeptemberCress Available to Buy Now
Ready to plan with cress?
Reserve cress for your event or ask our designers to build something around them, grown by our Michigan farmer collective.