HOW TO DEADHEAD
Deadheading annuals and perennials is a favourite stress reliever for me. Don’t bother asking why because I do not have an answer.
What is deadheading? It is simply removing the spent blossoms. Why is it important? Here comes the technical answer:
An annual or perennial plant’s only purpose in life (to its mind) is to reproduce itself. It order to do that, it has to produce seeds. In order to produce seeds, it must bloom. Once it has bloomed, the plant puts its energy into producing seeds from that flower head. Once it has produced seeds, the plant figures its useful life is over and it dies. To prevent the plant from dying, we have to prevent it from producing seeds. To do that, we have to cut the spent blooms off the plants. The plant thinks its little seed factory is gone, so it re-flowers to produce another seed factory, and the cycle continues all season long (in the case of annuals). That’s not so difficult is it? No, but there is a right way and a wrong way to deadhead.
First the wrong way: You cut the flowerhead off at the base of the flower. This leaves little green sticks on the plants which will turn brown, making the plant less attractive.
The right way: Cut the spent flower off stem and all, right down to where it joins the main stem of the plant. If possible, make a straight cut, rather than an angled cut. The smaller the cut is, the less exposed tissue there is, the less chance of disease infecting the plant.
After deadheading is a good time to fertilize the plants with a 15-30-15 formula. They have been putting all of their energy into flowering, so their nutrient reserves may be depleted. By fertilizing now, it will give the plants the boost they need to produce more blooms.
Deadheading annuals and perennials is a favourite stress reliever for me. Don’t bother asking why because I do not have an answer.
What is deadheading? It is simply removing the spent blossoms. Why is it important? Here comes the technical answer:
An annual or perennial plant’s only purpose in life (to its mind) is to reproduce itself. It order to do that, it has to produce seeds. In order to produce seeds, it must bloom. Once it has bloomed, the plant puts its energy into producing seeds from that flower head. Once it has produced seeds, the plant figures its useful life is over and it dies. To prevent the plant from dying, we have to prevent it from producing seeds. To do that, we have to cut the spent blooms off the plants. The plant thinks its little seed factory is gone, so it re-flowers to produce another seed factory, and the cycle continues all season long (in the case of annuals). That’s not so difficult is it? No, but there is a right way and a wrong way to deadhead.
First the wrong way: You cut the flowerhead off at the base of the flower. This leaves little green sticks on the plants which will turn brown, making the plant less attractive.
The right way: Cut the spent flower off stem and all, right down to where it joins the main stem of the plant. If possible, make a straight cut, rather than an angled cut. The smaller the cut is, the less exposed tissue there is, the less chance of disease infecting the plant.
After deadheading is a good time to fertilize the plants with a 15-30-15 formula. They have been putting all of their energy into flowering, so their nutrient reserves may be depleted. By fertilizing now, it will give the plants the boost they need to produce more blooms.
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