Birth Flowers by Month: The Full List and What Each One Means

Birth flowers by month work a lot like birthstones: each month gets a flower (most get two), and each flower carries an old meaning. The list most people use in Canada and the US comes from European flower lore, so it is a tradition rather than a rulebook. We get asked about it most when someone wants a birthday bouquet to feel a bit more personal than "nice flowers, happy birthday."

Here is the full list, what each flower means, and the honest part: which ones a florist can actually put in a bouquet that week, and what to send when the birth flower is a garden plant that never sees a cooler.

Birth flowers by month at a glance

Birth month flowers differ a little from source to source. A few newer lists add peony for November, or iris for February. We've stuck with the version quoted most often, which is also the one on our birthday flowers page.

How to use a birth flower without being stuck with it

Birth flowers by month are a starting point, not a shopping list. Three things decide whether it makes sense in a bouquet:

1. Is it a cut flower at all? Holly, hawthorn and morning glory are garden plants. Nobody is hand-tying a bouquet of hawthorn.
2. Is it in season near the birthday? Sweet peas and lily of the valley have short seasons and rarely reach a Canadian florist in good shape.
3. Does the person like it? If your sister hates carnations, a January birthday doesn't change that.

When the flower itself won't work, colour can carry the idea. Purple for a February birthday, gold and rust for October, red and white for December. Add a line on the card ("your birth flower is the violet, which stands for loyalty, so this felt right") and the meaning lands anyway.

January birth flower: carnation and snowdrop

Carnations traditionally stand for love and admiration, and the colour adds detail: red for deep love, pink for gratitude, white for good luck. They are also one of the longest-lasting cut flowers, often close to two weeks in clean water, which is handy in the dry heat of a January house.

Snowdrops, the small white bells that come up through late snow, are linked with hope. They are a garden flower, so think of them as the reason to add white to a January bouquet.

Carnations turn up in several of our mixed designs, including Florist's Palette ($115) with roses and stock, and the vase arrangement Parlour Posy ($98).

February birth flower: violet and primrose

Violets are tied to loyalty, modesty and faithfulness. Primroses mean young love, which suits a February birthday that sits right next to Valentine's Day. Both are small spring garden plants, so the easier route is a bouquet in violet, lavender and soft purple.

Lilac and Linen ($185) is 50 lavender and white roses. Tulip Armful ($125) has 30 mixed tulips in purple, pink and lilac, and Violet Cerise ($150) leans deeper, with cerise and purple.

March birth flower: daffodil and jonquil

Daffodils and their smaller cousins, jonquils, mean new beginnings and the end of winter. Fair warning if you buy them yourself: a freshly cut daffodil leaks a sap that shortens the life of other flowers in the vase, tulips especially. Florists stand them in water on their own for a few hours first, and you shouldn't recut them after that.

We don't carry daffodils, so for a March birthday we'd go for the same sunny yellow: Caramel Sun with 10 sunflowers ($98.50), or Tulip Lace ($75) with 10 tulips. There's more on the flower itself in our post on daffodils.

April birth flower: daisy and sweet pea

The daisy stands for innocence, cheer and new beginnings. The sweet pea is traditionally a thank you for a lovely time, and it smells wonderful for about four days before it gives up.

Daisies we can do. Garden Gate Basket ($120) puts them in a basket with hydrangeas, alstroemeria and snapdragons, which feels right for April. Sweet peas aren't part of our range.

May birth flower: lily of the valley and hawthorn

Lily of the valley is said to mean sweetness and the return of happiness, and it has been a wedding favourite for a long time. It is tiny, heavily scented and toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, so keep it away from pets and small children. Hawthorn, the second May flower, is a flowering shrub linked with hope.

Neither is something we stock. The closest thing in spirit is scent and white: Sage and Stock ($75) is 10 white stocks, and stock has a sweet, clove-like smell that fills a room. For something softer, Lily Haze ($95) uses pink oriental lilies.

June birth flower: rose and honeysuckle

June is the easy month. The rose covers almost every kind of love, and the colour does the talking: red for romance, pink for thanks and admiration, white for new beginnings, yellow for friendship. Honeysuckle, the second June flower, stands for devoted affection.

For a June birthday you can pick roses in their favourite colour and be done. Our rose colour guide goes through every shade if you want the card to explain the choice.

Rosewater is 25 pink roses ($110), Red Promise is 25 red roses with eucalyptus ($110), and Macaron mixes 25 white roses with spray roses in peach, pink and lavender ($150).

July birth flower: larkspur and water lily

Larkspur grows in tall spikes of blue, purple, pink or white, and is linked with an open heart and lightness. The water lily stands for peace and purity. Larkspur is a summer cut flower but not one we carry, and water lilies belong in a pond.

The colour to borrow is blue. Blue Lullaby ($165) is our blue design, with blue hydrangeas, roses and scabiosa.

August birth flower: gladiolus and poppy

Gladiolus takes its name from the Latin for "little sword", after its sword-like leaves, and traditionally means strength of character and integrity. The poppy is tied to imagination, and in Canada it is also the most common symbol of remembrance, worn in November. For an August birthday that second meaning rarely matters, but it's worth knowing.

We don't stock either. For the same boldness, Island Flame ($165) puts red roses with anthurium and red ginger in a vase.

September birth flower: aster and morning glory

Asters are star-shaped (the name means "star" in Greek) and are often said to mean love and patience. Morning glory, which opens with the sun and closes by afternoon, is linked with affection. Neither is part of our range.

Asters come in purple, lilac and white, so a September bouquet in those tones fits well. Violet Cerise or Tulip Armful both work, and Parlour Posy has daisy mums, which look a lot like asters.

October birth flower: marigold and cosmos

Marigolds bring orange and gold and are linked with warmth and creativity. Cosmos are often said to mean order and peace. Both are garden flowers, and both suit an autumn palette of rust, gold and cream.

For an October birthday, think warm colour. Meadow Light ($125) has 15 sunflowers, and Caramel Sun ($98.50) has 10.

November birth flower: chrysanthemum

The chrysanthemum stands for joy, friendship and a long life, and once cut it lasts a long time. Mums come in bronze, plum, yellow, pink and white. For a birthday, pick colour: in many European and East Asian families, white chrysanthemums are a funeral flower, so an all-white bunch can land the wrong way.

We wrote a full post on the November birth flower, including which colours to choose and which to skip.

Peach and Plum ($125) has plum chrysanthemums with lilies, hydrangea and roses. Parlour Posy ($98) is a vase arrangement with daisy mums, carnations and snapdragons.

December birth flower: narcissus and holly

The paperwhite narcissus is linked with hope, good wishes and respect. Holly stands for protection and good cheer. The ASPCA lists narcissus, paperwhites included and holly as toxic to cats and dogs, and neither is a usual bouquet flower: paperwhites are mostly grown from bulbs indoors, and holly is a shrub.

So for December, red and white does the work, which conveniently also looks like the season. Our post on the December birth flower has more ideas, including how to keep a birthday from being swallowed by Christmas.

Snowfall Red is 25 red roses in white wrap ($115), Ivory Script is 50 white roses with an initial ($195), and Claret and Cream is red and white peonies ($150).

Writing the card

With birth flowers by month, the flower is half of it. The card is where you say why you chose it. A few that work:

• "Your birth flower is the carnation. It means admiration, which is about right."
• "June gets the rose. Here are 25 of them."
• "November's flower stands for a long life. Here's to many more."
• "December's flower is the narcissus, which means hope. I hope this year is a great one."

You type the message at checkout and we tuck it in with the flowers.

Sending birthday flowers in Toronto and York Region

Every design in this guide to birth flowers by month is made by hand in our studio in Oak Ridges, at the north end of Richmond Hill. Order by 1 pm and we can deliver the same day to most postal codes in York Region and Toronto, from Newmarket and Aurora down to Toronto. Delivery is priced by driving distance from the studio, starting at $12, and you see the exact fee before you pay.

If you want a specific birth flower and it isn't listed, call us at (437) 291-5605. We'll tell you straight whether it's likely around the birthday. Sometimes it is. When it isn't, we'll suggest colours that carry the same idea. For more on choosing, see what flowers to send for a birthday.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 12 birth flowers by month?

January carnation, February violet, March daffodil, April daisy, May lily of the valley, June rose, July larkspur, August gladiolus, September aster, October marigold, November chrysanthemum and December narcissus. Most months also have a second flower, such as snowdrop for January or holly for December.

How do I find my birth flower?

Look up the month you were born in the list above. Most months have two flowers, and you can claim either one. Lists vary slightly between sources, so if you see a different flower for your month, it isn't wrong, just from a different tradition.

Which month has the rose as its birth flower?

June. The rose is the June birth flower, with honeysuckle as the second. It makes June birthdays the easiest of the year to buy for, since roses are available year round and come in almost every colour.

What is the birth flower for November?

The chrysanthemum. It stands for joy, friendship and a long life. Choose coloured mums for a birthday, since white chrysanthemums are linked with funerals in many European and East Asian families.

Can a florist make a bouquet with my birth flower?

It depends on the month. Roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and daisies are easy to find. Holly, hawthorn, morning glory and water lily are not cut flowers. When a birth flower can't go in a bouquet, a florist can match its colour instead.

Are birth flowers the same in every country?

No. The list used in Canada, the US and the UK comes from European flower lore. Other countries and cultures have their own traditions, and even English-language lists differ for a few months, so treat any birth flower list as a guide.