{"id":12051,"date":"2024-06-24T09:54:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T13:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/?p=12051"},"modified":"2024-09-26T14:25:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T18:25:56","slug":"deadheading-annuals-perennials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/blog\/deadheading-annuals-perennials\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadheading Your Virginia Flowers for Prolonged Blooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is Deadheading?<\/h2>\n

Love your garden but tired of fleeting blooms? Deadheading is a simple yet powerful technique that can extend the flowering season of your favorite plants. This idea is a simple one and fairly familiar: by trimming off the faded flowers, many perennials and annuals can be coaxed into producing more buds and flowers, rather than wasting their energy forming seeds.<\/p>\n

Why Deadhead Flowers?<\/h2>\n

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Plants will go to seed once their blooms are finished. That\u2019s nature. If left alone a flowering plant would bloom, that bloom would then be fertilized and set seed. In this reproductive cycle, the plant expends all its energy and nutrients to set seed instead of producing more flowers. By deadheading you will not only encourage many more flowers but you will also create a longer blooming period for your plants.<\/p>\n

How To Deadhead Flowers<\/h2>\n

\"\" Remove the faded flowers from the plant by pinching off the flower head. Now the plant will spend its energy producing more flowers instead of seed!<\/p>\n

You can also pinch the central growing tip of the plant. This will produce side shoots further down the stem, creating a bushier plant that will produce more flowers throughout the season.<\/p>\n

You may notice your plants look so much better after deadheading that it becomes part of your regular list of summer chores!<\/p>\n

Cutting Back Perennials Hard<\/h2>\n

\"\"With just a few exceptions, the vast majority of late spring and early summer-blooming perennials will deteriorate in appearance after flowering and can look hideous later in the summer. With these types of perennials, a hard shearing back will encourage a new round of fresh, healthy, compact foliage to be produced, causing the plants to actually be an attractive addition to the landscape during the heat of summer and not the tired-looking perennial with a large dead hole in the center of the plant.<\/p>\n

This hard pruning technique is recommended for most mounding perennials including Ladys Mantle<\/a>, Tickseed<\/a>, Bleeding Heart<\/a>, Catmint<\/a>, Sage<\/a>, and Spiderwort,<\/a> just to name a few.<\/p>\n

When to Deadhead Annuals and Perennials<\/h2>\n

The best time to deadhead depends on the specific plant and its blooming cycle. Here are some general guidelines:<\/p>\n