Deadheading

       KEEPING YOUR ANNUALS BLOOMING
'DEADHEADING"

Annuals are plants that grow to maturity, flower, set seed, and die within one year.  Once the flowers are pollinated most of the energy of the plant is focused on producing seeds which will ensure its survival the following year.

The faded flowers of this marigold diverts the  plants energy from producing more flowers to seed making.
Although this task takes time it will keep these plants blooming until the frost.

 In order to "fool" the plant into creating more flowers gardeners use the simple trick of pinching off the old flowers.  This technique is known as 'dead-heading'.  It forces the plant to start over,  produce even more flowers and finally  seeds.

This proven practice works on all annuals from early spring pansies to summer blooming zinnia and marigolds.  Some plants like pansies will even form two new flowers for every one pinched.

Pansies benefit greatly from deadheading.
I keep my pansy plantings limited so I don't get overwhelmed by this chore.

With many flowers you can simply remove the old bloom with your finger tips.  With plants with thicker stems it is wiser to use snips to prevent damaging the plants and new flowers.

The bold flowers of geraniums dry out and become unsightly when left
on the plants. Deadheading keeps annuals looking fresh and robust.

Geraniums can be deadheaded by hand, but using pruning snips prevents damage to the stem
and speeds up the process.

The hardest part of this task is finding the time to do it.  If it's late in the season and your marigolds have more dead flowers than you want to deal with, take a chair and a beverage to where they are and make the task more enjoyable.  This will keep your annual flowers blooming into autumn.

Gardeners routinely deadhead spent flowers when inspecting their gardens.
This practice keeps their displays in peak condition all season long. 

Dead-heading is also beneficial to many other plants as well.  Although most 'perennials' will only bloom for a few weeks during their season, removing the dead flowers encourages the plants to produce new flowers and stronger roots systems.  Since many perennials are best propagated by division (dividing the root system) this practice is very beneficial.

If you are planning on dividing a perennial this year, deadheading the old
flowers will divert energy from making seeds to building a stronger root system.
     

Summer flowering shrubs such as butterfly bushes or roses will also produce more flowers when dead-headed.

Happy Gardening,                                                                                                                 James