Trimming dead and wilted flowers is an easy way to increase flower power in your garden.
Removing faded flowers involves a clever trick.
A plant’s sole purpose in life is, of course, to reproduce. It does this by sending up colorful, fragrant flowers that are irresistible to nearby pollinators. Once the pollen has been transferred from the anther to the stigma, the inflorescences detach from their petals and eventually develop into inflorescences.
The rosebuds eventually turn into rose hips, which are beautiful in themselves. From the plant’s point of view, its life purpose has been fulfilled. All your energy is now directed towards seed production. This means no new flowers and often worn foliage.
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But if we remove the flowers quickly, before the seeds begin to grow, the plant will have a new purpose.
The plant immediately reverts to flower production mode, giving it another chance to set seed.
For us gardeners, this means we can enjoy the exquisite color, shape and aroma for a little longer.
When topping is done regularly and correctly, your garden will be in bloom until the first frosts.
3 Other Benefits of Deadheading
In addition to receiving another set of flowers, deadheading has several other benefits:
1. Plants that look healthier
Seed establishment consumes a large portion of the plant’s energy reserves. As plants transition to seed production, other parts of the plant may look neglected and torn.
But removing spent flowers will redirect that energy to flower, leaf, and root growth, promoting healthy-looking plants.
Even with cultivars we don’t normally grow for their flowers, like hostas, for example, removing the stem keeps the leaves healthy and fresh.
2. Avoid self-seeding
Some plants are selfish donors. If you don’t want to uproot your lawn in the spring, topping will help control seed release.
3. a tidy garden
Dried, golden flowers can look unsightly. By removing this visual pollution, the garden remains clean and tidy.
4 reasons not to die
Deadheading is completely optional, and sometimes you want to leave the seed heads on the plant.
1. Not all plants need to be topped
Some plants are specifically bred for their attractive seed heads. Ornamental grasses, teasels, sedums and alliums are some of the plants you should not cut.
2. it’s bird food
Allowing your plants to produce seeds will help feed birds and other wildlife during the winter when food sources are scarce. Echinacea, sunflower and rudbeckia seeds are among the most valuable and tasty treats for our feathered and furry friends.
3. You want your plants to propagate
If you want to fill in empty spaces in the garden, deadheading will only prolong that effort. Let the seeds grow and fall to create a beautiful carpet of plants.
4. it can take a long time
Depending on the size of your garden, cutting every flower can be an absolute waste of time. For some it’s a relaxing way to play in the garden, but for others it just adds more maintenance.
If you don’t have the time (or inclination) to die, you can let nature take its course.
How to kill flowers – 3 methods
1. Pinch
Pressing is the easiest and most convenient way to die as it requires no tools. Every time you walk through your garden, you risk picking up spent flowers along the way.
This technique works best on plants with thin, fleshy stems such as petunias, pansies, daylilies, yarrow, sage and coleus.
To die by pinching, take the flower head in your hand and follow the stem to the first set of leaves:
Use your thumb and forefinger to apply pressure until the flower stem releases.
Don’t pull the flower heads away from the calyx, or you risk leaving the budding pods behind.
Pinching off the first set of leaves completely removes all reproductive parts of the flower. It also hides the pruning better than the pinch just below the flower head.
2. Prune
For larger flowers with thick, woody or prickly stems, good pruners are absolutely necessary.
Roses, echinacea, cosmos, lupins, foxglove, lemon balm, etc. can be cut in the same way as the pinch: just cut the stem under the flower to the first set of leaves.
Making the cuts some distance from the stem will prevent the plants from looking decapitated.
Conventional wisdom with dead roses is to prune the stem down to the first set of five leaves. And to make cuts at a 45 degree angle from the button eye.
But apparently these extra steps aren’t really necessary and the roses will bloom more profusely if the flower and stem are cut at the first set of leaves:
When plants bloom in clusters, remove only the faded flower and leave healthy flowers and emerging flower buds on the plant.
When the flower stalk has finished flowering along its entire length, cut the stalk down to the base of the plant.
3. To shave
When plants produce masses of flowers, such as catnip, daisies, lavender and alder, it is tedious to cut each flower individually.
Instead, these types of plants can be cut almost completely. Gather all the foliage with one hand and cut it with the secateurs of the other hand, leaving about four inches of foliage:
Wait until most flowers have finished blooming before pruning the plant.
Giving your plants such a severe haircut can be a bit scary. Don’t worry, your plants will recover in about 2-3 weeks and will once again reward you with vigorous growth and abundant flowering.
General Dead Head Tips
Right after finishing the deadheading, give your plants a good glass of water. Applying fertilizer, like compost tea, will help plants get back into flowering mode faster.
The best time of day for Deadhead is early in the morning or in the eveningwhen bees and wasps hide for the night.
Keep your cutting tools sharp, lubricated and clean. It will make the labor of love quick and efficient instead of frustrating and tedious.
As long as they are pest and disease free, you can discard the dead flowers and stems. throw them in the composter or put them in the ground as mulch.
If you hate dead heads but still want continuous blooms, check this out self-cleaning cultivars. Begonia, impatiens, nemesia and calibrachoa are plants that will bloom again without dying.