If you want a vibrant, flower-filled island, you’re gonna have to get down to some ACNH flower breeding. It can be a bit of a head-scratcher to get those blue roses, so our guide is here to help. When you start a new island you’ll find a native flower that already exists in abundance, but we want more. That’s why we’ve put together our simple ACNH flower guide so you can breed every color available across all eight types of plants.
In case you missed it, there’s official confirmation of Animal Crossing Lego coming out next year. Plus, here are all the Animal Crossing amiibo cards so you can invite any ACNH villager you want to your island to live an easy life.
Here’s everything you need to know about ACNH flower breeding.
What ACNH flowers are there?
Animal Crossing New Horizons is all about decorating the outdoors and sprucing up your island with flowers. There are eight kinds to plant and breed including roses, pansies, cosmos, and more. That’s on top of the bushes, trees, and vines you can dot around, too.
Where can I get ACNH seeds?
You can purchase seeds of your native flowers from Timmy and Tommy every day, and then when Nook’s Cranny opens, you can get another random seasonal type that changes weekly.
Leif the sloth will also visit your island every week, and he sells two new kinds of flowers that aren’t native to your island every time he visits. You can find him in the plaza in front of the resident services building. The only colors that both Leif and Nook’s Cranny sell are red, yellow, and white.
Flower | Northern hemisphere availability | Southern hemisphere availability |
Cosmos | July to November | January to May |
Hyacinth | February to April | August to October |
Lily | June to September | January, March to December |
Mum | January, then August to December | February to July |
Pansy | January to April, then November to December | May to October |
Rose | May to July, then October to December | January, April to June, November to December |
Tulip | March to June | September to December |
Windflower | January to May, then December | June to November |
If you’re lucky and win the mystery island roulette, you may land on an island that has a new type of flower. Go forth and dig ‘em all up and plant them on your own island.
Other than that, online trading on sites like Nookazon has massively slowed down since the game’s release, so you may have to rely on friends or find players on Reddit or Facebook communities to visit and purchase the remaining types of flowers that you need.
Can I get fully-grown ACNH flowers?
If you – like me – cannot be bothered waiting days for flowers to grow in, you can take a trip to Nook Miles islands, or one of Kappn’s mystery destinations, and ransack the island for all the fully grown flowers to plant at home. Or if you have some good friends they may let you come and uproot some of their flowers, too.
How to get hybrid ACNH flowers
So you’re bored of the classic red, yellow, and white flowers, huh? Yeah, me too. Thankfully, there are two ways to breed hybrid flowers that come in much more interesting shades. To get your orange, purple, and even gold flowers, you can either pair breed or let nature take its course and allow flowers to naturally multiply.
First, let’s look at pair breeding. As the name suggests, planting flowers in pairs – with a space left in between – is the ideal setup for breeding new colors of flowers. Make sure there is plenty of space around the flowers so that new buds can sprout – we suggest making a specific breeding area so you can keep your flowers safe, and remember where they are.
The other method is to let the flowers naturally reproduce. If you plant a load of flowers and let them be, chances are you’ll end up with a few pink and orange buds, and some hybrids of the natural three colors.
Below, we’ve laid out the easiest ways to get each hybrid color without doing too much flower maths. Remember that red, yellow, and white are standard colors, so we won’t be adding them to this table. If you have friends who play Animal Crossing, get them to water your flowers. This makes hybrids pop up quicker!
Flower | Pink | Orange | Blue | Purple | Black | Green | Gold |
Cosmos | ✓ | ✓ | x | x | ✓ | x | x |
Hyacinth | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | x | x | x |
Lily | ✓ | ✓ | x | x | ✓ | x | x |
Mum | ✓ | x | x | ✓ | x | ✓ | x |
Pansy | x | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | x | x | x |
Rose | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | x | ✓ |
Tulip | ✓ | ✓ | x | ✓ | ✓ | x | x |
Windflower | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | x | x | x |
Here’s a table showing the simplest combinations to use to breed each hybrid. You can swap the arent colors – you don’t need to plant them in a specific way.
Hybrid color | Parent color one | Parent color two |
Pink | Red | White |
Orange | Red | Yellow |
Blue | Black or hybrid red | Black or hybrid red |
Purple | White or blue | White or blue |
Black | Red or pink | Red or pink |
Green (mums only) | Purple | Purple |
Gold (roses only) | Black | Black |
Hybrid red | Purple | Orange |
The more you breed your flowers, the more their individual DNA (yes, really) gets muddied. If you’re trying to breed new colors, we suggest using freshly planted flowers as much as you can to avoid any unexpected results. One particular flower does need hybrid red flowers, so we’ve added that in here too. Time for some careful planning!
And there you have it – a blooming garden filled with ACNH flowers of all colors and shapes. If you like gardening games, then perhaps our list of farm games or easy games may pique your interest.