Like in previous Animal Crossing games, New Horizons entails an array of vibrant looking flowers to nurture and care for. Similarly to fruit, the type of flower that grows naturally on your island’s cliffs will be randomly determined at the beginning of the game.
While there are four color variations by default: red, white, yellow, and orange (windflowers only), more can be discovered by growing hybrid flowers.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to get hybrid flowers and breakdown which flower combinations produce which colors. But before we talk gardening, you’ll want to make sure you have a shovel handy along with some seeds.
If you would like to learn more about island living, check out our New Horizons tips and tricks guide to help get you started.
Let’s get started with the guide!
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How To Get New Flower Types
You won’t be able to collect your island’s native flowers until you’ve crafted a ladder that allows you to scale cliffs.
If you haven’t gotten to that point in the game, you can still purchase a variety of seeds from either Tommy in Resident Services or Nook’s Cranny once it’s been built. Although the selection changes each day, some species will never appear in your shop.
To make up for any species you may be missing, we recommend visiting another player’s island whose native flower differs from your own. While you’re there, make sure to hit up their resident shop to see what seeds are currently for sale.
Here is every flower type that appears in New Horizons:
- Lily
- Rose
- Hyacinth
- Windflower
- Cosmos
- Pansy
- Tulip
- Mum
How To Get Hybrid Flowers
The best way to get hybrid flowers is to grow them by crossbreeding two colors belonging to the same species (ex. red windflower and white windflower).
For this to work, the parent flowers must be planted directly next to each other or diagonally in a crosshatch pattern. Make sure to leave the top, bottom, and side tiles empty for your hybrid flowers to be able to grow.
The last step is watering your parent flowers to ensure a hybrid flower spawns. You can do this yourself with a watering can or just wait for it to rain. Once these conditions have been met, you have a chance of growing a hybrid flower on any of the empty tiles the following day.
If you find yourself having trouble, try digging all the holes for your flowers first, then move on to planting.
Hybrid Flower Color Combinations
While the above method will consistently produce hybrids, not every combination will result in a new color. Here is a list of every compatible flower along with the hybrid color they combine to make:
Lilies
- Red + White = Pink
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- Red + Red = Black
Roses
- Red + White = Pink
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- Red + Red = Black
- Purple + Orange = Red
- White + White = Purple
- White + Orange = Red (purebred)
- Red (purebred) + Red (purebred) = Blue
- Black (watered with gold watering can) = Gold
Hyacinths
- Red + White = Pink
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- White + White = Blue
- Orange + Orange = Purple
Windflowers
- Red + White = Pink
- White + White = Blue
- Blue + Blue = Purple
Cosmos
- Red + White = Pink
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- Orange + Orange = Black
Pansies
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- White + White = Blue
- Orange + Blue = Orange (purebred)
- Red + Blue = Red (purebred)
- Red (purebred) + Red (purebred) = Purple
- Orange (purebred) + Orange (purebred) = Purple
Tulips
- Red + White = Pink
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- Red + Red = Black
- Orange + Orange = Purple
Mums
- Red + White = Pink
- White + White = Purple
- Purple + Purple = Green
Other Ways To Get Flowers
Although your best chance of getting hybrid flowers is going to be growing them yourself, it’s also possible to encounter a hybrid during Mystery Tours.
First, purchase a Nook Miles ticket from the Nook Stop kiosk in Resident Services, and then head over to Dodo Airlines. There, you can redeem the ticket to visit a random deserted island with an abundance of natural resources, some of which may differ from your own.
Any items you find on these islands can be brought back home with you, including flowers. If you come across any rare flowers you want to plant on your home island, simply dig them up using your shovel.
