There are many things that can go in your compost bin. It’s not just for leftovers and other organic waste that can’t be thrown away any other way. Even if something doesn’t seem like it would break down easily, if it was alive at one point and is made of plant materials, you can probably compost it.
Although, there are some things that will keep your compost from working well. If you want to get the most out of your compost, you should avoid putting certain things in it.
If you’ve found yourself wondering “are flowers compostable?”, “how do I do it?” and “how long will they take to compost?”: you’ve come to the right place.
Can you put flowers in the compost?
Yes, flowers are compostable. Adding flowers to your compost pile will contribute to creating a nutrient-rich fertiliser that you can use in your garden.
Can you put them in the waste bin?
If you don’t have a compost bin, you can put organic materials in the appropriate roadside collection bin but biodegradable materials like flowers are better off being in a compost pile.
Disposing of organic or compostable waste like organic materials in landfill can contribute to the release of potent greenhouse gases like methane, which has around 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide.
Methane emissions are significantly reduced by composting suitable food waste and organic materials.
How to compost flowers
You should consider recently cut or bought flowers to be green material but dried flowers should be used as a brown material. Thorny flower stems will take a lot longer to decompose so consider shredding them beforehand. You should not compost any poisonous plants
As a green material, you should be adding flowers and other green nitrogen-rich materials then a layer of brown to cover it. Remember to use a garden fork or a stick to poke holes in your compost every couple of weeks to mix the pile up.
How long will flowers take to compost?
It takes around 3 months for flowers to completely decompose in a compost. Because they take a little while to break down, you can put them in your compost on a regular basis.
Flowers discarded on the ground or buried in the ground will take longer to decompose.
Are flowers a green or brown material?
Freshly cut flowers should be considered a green material when composting.
Materials that are green, like flowers, are often more wet and softer recently-living organic material; and are a source of nitrogen (one of the four essential ingredients) for your compost. Green nitrogen-rich materials provide a lot of the vital nutrients that microbes need to speed up the process of decomposition. Ideally your compost mix should consist of about 1 part of green material for every 4 parts of brown material.
Composts rely on green materials like flowers to add the neccessary proteins and other nourishment for the microbes to thrive to the pile.
Will composting them attract pests?
No. Flowers will not attract pests.
Composting considerations
When composting flowers, you should avoid composting flowers treated with toxic herbicides.
