Pets and Posies… how to create a winning combo.

Jun 27

More folks today than ever have a pet or pets. One of the most common comments I get at markets is something along the lines of “I would buy but I have a cat…” and I totally understand wanting to keep that valuable member of your family safe.

To help, I put together a list of some pet safe flowers. (Now please keep in mind that if your pet eats anything in large quantities that they aren’t used to, it still might upset their system, but these blooms aren’t considered toxic like flowers such as lilies or foxglove are.) Also, I’m not a toxicologist, I cross-referenced these flowers from several sites across the web which I’ll list at the end, but if you want any clarification or confirmation, please speak to your vet.

Pet Safe Flowers:

Celosia
Calendula
Coreopsis
Cornflowers (Bachelor buttons)
Echinacea
Forget-me-not
Marigolds
Nasturtiums
Snapdragons <-Bluu has been stealing stems recently and trying to sneak out of the shop to crunch on them…
Roses
Sunflowers
Zinnias
Lisianthus
Statice
Orchids
Gerber Daisy
Stock
Pansies

Honorable mentions:

Mints-generally speaking are safe as long as they aren’t consumed in large quantities (catmint, beebalm, mountain mint, peppermint, applemint, spearmint)
Dahlias- one list had them as safe, another didn’t. Bluu has definitely eaten at least one dahlia tuber with no ill effects (they look like weird potatoes). Do with that information what you will.
Yarrow-while it does contain tannins that can cause issues, it is reported that the bitter taste frequently acts as a deterrent.
Freesia-ASCA had it listed as safe… while another site had it under potentially toxic

Overall, the best advice is to keep the pets from eating anything you don’t put in their food bowl, whether that's by putting bouquets up high, putting them in rooms the pets can’t access, or doing aversion training.

I hope this list helps you to feel a little better about bringing flowers around your pets. Now that you have that information you can hopefully use it to decide which bouquets to buy from us, or you can always request a custom pet safe bouquet by emailing me at ebecka@beckasblooms.com. If you plan to do this, please plan to let me know a minimum of 48 hours in advance because it might require an extra harvest to get enough safe flowers and foliage together for you.

Below is a list of plants known to be TOXIC to pets: