There's a sneaky flower saboteur hiding in plain sight that is stealing your flower show. Your garden could be producing three times more blooms right now.
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Check PriceYour plant's flower is not 'tired.' Instead, it is usurping your entire plant's energy system. It is taking plant resources that would be used for other activities like producing buds and instead diverting those resources towards seed production. When your plant's flower starts to wither, it sends a message to the plant that says 'mission accomplished' and the plant starts to shut down the bloom factory.
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Most gardeners don't realize that you can intercept that signal and keep the party going all season long.
The Secret War for Energy Going on In Your Garden
Every plant has a kind of energy budget. When managing a household budget plants can decide how to split their spending between roots, leaves, flowers, or seeds. When you leave spent blooms on the plant, you're telling the plant to spend its money on next year's generations instead of this year's display.
Once petals fade, the process of seed development kicks in. Mobile chemical messengers inhibit further budding and flow to the stem to start the formation of seeds. This process is called 'apical dominance'.
When you remove that faded bloom before seeds have a chance to form, you disrupt the plant's internal signaling system and cause the plant to keep developing additional flowers to finish the cycle of reproduction.
The 48-Hour Time Period That Alters Everything
Most gardeners deadhead too late. Flowers cycles mean characteristically round blooms will eventually become flat or dried looking. But the real magic of dead heading is in the narrow time period between these two states of the flower.
Look for early signs such as the petals dulling in color, slight curling, or drooping of the flower head, despite the soil remaining moist. This is your chance, albeit for a limited time – anywhere between 48 – 72 hours – to put your focus the flower energy back into flower formation.
Cut too soon, and you may lose a flower that had more beauty to offer. Wait too long, and the seed production hormones have already started their work.
How to Properly Deadhead Various Types of Plants
Deadheading doesn't have the same effect on all plants. Here’s how to get the best results on some garden favorites:
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For single stems flowers like Zinnias and Marigolds cut back to the next set of leaves or side buds. This promotes branching and the formation of several new flower heads.
Spike flowers such as foxgloves and delphiniums produce a second smaller spike flush after cutting the whole spent stalk back to the basal foliage.
You can routinely pinch back and shear continuous bloomers such as petunias and impatiens which will allow you to remove several spent blooms at a time and will help keep your plants full and covered with flowers.
How to Understand Extended Bloom Time
Properly done research shows that deadheading plants can increase their blooming period by 60% up to 200%. This is species specific research by the way. This is also not just about how the garden looks but it is about changing the way plants use their energy.
If seed production is restricted for a period of time, the plant goes into 'perpetual flowering mode.' This means that the energy that would have been used to develop seeds is diverted to the production of additional flower buds, to the maintenance of plant foliage, and to the strengthening of roots.
More energy is put into the roots so that nutrients can be absorbed more easily. Better flowering means more dead heading opportunities, which means you can support the cycle even more.
Tools and Methods for Optimizing Efficiency
Having tools that are sharp and clean makes the jobs easier and more efficient. Blades that are not sharp will end up crushing the stems of plants which causes injury that leads to disease and added stress on the plant.
If you are working with soft-stemmed annuals, you can use either your fingernails or small scissors to make cuts. Make sure to cut slightly above a leaf node or side bud so that you can foster some branching.
For tougher perennials, you will need to use bypass pruners. When cutting, use an angle to cut so that water is shed (and to help prevent rot) and always cut back to healthy and vigorous growth.
To prevent the spread of disease when working with delicate plants such as delphiniums and roses, it is important to clean your tools between working with different plants using rubbing alcohol.
Mistakes To Avoid When Deadheading
One of the biggest mistakes that gardeners make is to not cut back enough stem. When you only remove the flower head, you leave a stem behind that is already committed to producing seeds. Always cut back to where you see new growth.
Another typical mistake is inconsistent timing. During the peak growing season, deadheading once a week is not adequate. Most annuals require deadheading every 2-3 days to keep them producing the maximum number of blooms.
Some gardeners do not deadhead on purpose to allow for self-seeding. This can work on true annuals, but for perennials that can bloom again, it greatly diminishes the current year’s show.
When NOT to Deadhead
Let some spent blooms stay on the plants to provide benefits for certain species. If the seed heads of ornamental grasses remain, they provide winter interest and food for birds. When deadheading echinacea and rudbeckia, you can provide similar benefits and they will continue to produce new flowers.
During the later part of the season, let a few flowers go to seed. This helps plants prep for their winter dormancy. This is especially helpful for perennials as they need to create and store energy in their root systems for the following year's growth.
Knowing the science of deadheading and using these specific techniques will change your garden from a short spring display to a colorful show that will last until the first hard frost.
