Deadheading Without Jerry Garcia

The geraniums are blooming... again. So are the coreopsis and roses. Many parts of my garden are showing a second season of color. The secret isn't much of a secret. It's all about deadheading.

Deadheading is simply pinching or cutting off a flower after it has bloomed. The magic comes in the plant's response to losing that flower. As pretty as they are, the primary purpose of a flower is to attract insects and birds for pollination so that the plant can produce seeds for propagation. It's the typical story in nature where the goal is to produce offspring. When the flower is lost, the plant typically responds by producing another flower to replace it. No flower means no seeds, and many plants get pretty serious about replacing lost flowers. Some times the flowers that bloom after deadheading can be more numerous than the first blooming.

You'll want to deadhead after the flower has reached its peak and is beginning to brown, shrivel, or dry out. On plants that flower at the end of long, slender stems, you can cut back the stem at the base. Flowers on shorter stems can be cut, pinched or pulled off. If the plant is bushy, you can trim off all of the flowers at once with a hedge clipper.

Plants that produce many flowers will respond by giving you many more. My geraniums, coreopsis, and roses flowered in June; with deadheading there are new flowers in August. I'm particularly pleased because I was able to buy most of these plants on a clearance sale at the home center. Their flowers were spent and brown so the store wanted to get rid of them. After all, who wants a flowering plant that isn't flowering. I took them home, pinched off the old flowers, gave them a new bed to lie in, and now they're blooming in glorious colors.

Many of my other, common flowers do the same. Marigolds, gaillardia, lavender, salvia, snapdragons, and daisies are all plants that I've received a second life from. Most annuals respond very well to deadheading and many perennials that offer a profusion of flowers will too.

For plants that devote most or all of their energy to producing a single flower or group of flowers, deadheading isn't effective. My irises, lilies, and tulips typically produce one burst of color and then fade. Deadheading won't change that, but it will help direct the plant's energy away from making seeds and back into the bulb. Clematis, wisteria, and jasmine will give you a defined number of flowers and deadheading won't affect that either, but it will help to clean up the plant and let the new flowers shine.

It can be a lot of work, a lot like weeding. Especially on a plant with many flowers, like my coreopsis, it takes awhile to pinch off the brown and dry flowers. The roses and geraniums were easier to cut off because there weren't as many flowers, but it still took time. I think it's worth the effort because it looks a little like spring at the end of the summer.

Some plants like yarrow, echinacea, and Jupiter's Beard will give you continuous color if you deadhead the first blooms, though subsequent growth may not be as large or abundant as the initial flowers. Plants like daylilies will offer many flowers in the season and removing the dried flower stalks keeps the plant looking fresh and clean.

If you haven't deadheaded before, go ahead and do it. Pinch off some of those blossoms. Experiment with the process to see how it works. Most of the time you don't have to worry about hurting the plant. On woody, flowering plants like lilacs you need to deadhead immediately after the blooms fade to avoid cutting off the developing buds that will produce the next year's flowers. But other than a few cases like that, cutting off the spent flowers won't adversely affect the plant. If it is programmed to produce more flowers, it will; if it isn't a second-bloom producer, it won't.

After a few tries you'll know what works well and your garden will respond with new color. Try it, you'll like it.

The geraniums are blooming... again. So are the coreopsis and roses. Many parts of my garden are showing a second season of color. The secret isn't much of a secret. It's all about deadheading.

Deadheading is simply pinching or cutting off a flower after it has bloomed. The magic comes in the plant's response to losing that flower. As pretty as they are, the primary purpose of a flower is to attract insects and birds for pollination so that the plant can produce seeds for propagation. It's the typical story in nature where the goal is to produce offspring. When the flower is lost, the plant typically responds by producing another flower to replace it. No flower means no seeds, and many plants get pretty serious about replacing lost flowers. Some times the flowers that bloom after deadheading can be more numerous than the first blooming.

You'll want to deadhead after the flower has reached its peak and is beginning to brown, shrivel, or dry out. On plants that flower at the end of long, slender stems, you can cut back the stem at the base. Flowers on shorter stems can be cut, pinched or pulled off. If the plant is bushy, you can trim off all of the flowers at once with a hedge clipper.

Plants that produce many flowers will respond by giving you many more. My geraniums, coreopsis, and roses flowered in June; with deadheading there are new flowers in August. I'm particularly pleased because I was able to buy most of these plants on a clearance sale at the home center. Their flowers were spent and brown so the store wanted to get rid of them. After all, who wants a flowering plant that isn't flowering. I took them home, pinched off the old flowers, gave them a new bed to lie in, and now they're blooming in glorious colors.

Many of my other, common flowers do the same. Marigolds, gaillardia, lavender, salvia, snapdragons, and daisies are all plants that I've received a second life from. Most annuals respond very well to deadheading and many perennials that offer a profusion of flowers will too.

For plants that devote most or all of their energy to producing a single flower or group of flowers, deadheading isn't effective. My irises, lilies, and tulips typically produce one burst of color and then fade. Deadheading won't change that, but it will help direct the plant's energy away from making seeds and back into the bulb. Clematis, wisteria, and jasmine will give you a defined number of flowers and deadheading won't affect that either, but it will help to clean up the plant and let the new flowers shine.

It can be a lot of work, a lot like weeding. Especially on a plant with many flowers, like my coreopsis, it takes awhile to pinch off the brown and dry flowers. The roses and geraniums were easier to cut off because there weren't as many flowers, but it still took time. I think it's worth the effort because it looks a little like spring at the end of the summer.

Some plants like yarrow, echinacea, and Jupiter's Beard will give you continuous color if you deadhead the first blooms, though subsequent growth may not be as large or abundant as the initial flowers. Plants like daylilies will offer many flowers in the season and removing the dried flower stalks keeps the plant looking fresh and clean.

If you haven't deadheaded before, go ahead and do it. Pinch off some of those blossoms. Experiment with the process to see how it works. Most of the time you don't have to worry about hurting the plant. On woody, flowering plants like lilacs you need to deadhead immediately after the blooms fade to avoid cutting off the developing buds that will produce the next year's flowers. But other than a few cases like that, cutting off the spent flowers won't adversely affect the plant. If it is programmed to produce more flowers, it will; if it isn't a second-bloom producer, it won't.

After a few tries you'll know what works well and your garden will respond with new color. Try it, you'll like it.