Deadheading Flowers
Deadheading flowers is simply the process of removing spent flower blooms.
It is accomplished by snipping, pruning, pinching, cutting or using any other
means to remove the dead (or spent) bloom. It's good for your plants in a
number of ways. So, be a "Dead Header" and deadhead your plants regularly!
Deadheading flowers has a lot of benefits. It has but one drawback. When
you remove the spent bloom, you are removing the seeds. Sometimes the seeds
fall to the ground to produce next year's flowers. Other times, gardeners
choose to collect them for later use.
Why should gardeners deadhead flowers?
There are a couple of big reasons why you should deadhead spent blooms.
First, and foremost, deadheading will promote new flower growth. All things
in nature have a built in desire to reproduce offspring. Flower plants are
no exception. Inside of the flower is where the seeds are produced to create
the next generation of plants. Once they have been produced, the plant has
satisfied it's need to reproduce. At that time, flower production stops.
Sometimes the life cycle is complete, and the plant dies.
By deadheading the blooms, you trick the plant into believing that it's
reproductive task is not yet accomplished. Often, the plant will then produce
another series of flowers. Pretty cool, huh!?!
Dead flowers lose their color, dry up, and in general, begin to look ugly.
So, reason number two to deadhead flowers is pretty obvious. It will make
your plant look better, and overall spruce up the appearance of your flower
bed. Many gardeners will take this as an opportunity to trim and reshape
the plant into an attractive shape.
When Should I Deadhead my Flowers?
It is usually best to remove spent bloom as soon as the flower has died.
Some flowers, like Lilacs, need to be removed immediately after blooming,
or you risk trimming off next year's blooms.
Will all flowers produce another series of blooms if I deadhead them?
No, not all. Roses will, Lilacs won't. Mums will, flowering bulbs won't.
Do you know if the flowers in your flower bed will re-bloom if you deadhead
them? When in doubt, we recommend you give it a try. At the very least, you
will improve the appearance of the plant.
The Envirocycle Compost/ Compost Tea maker is the perfect solution for people
who want to make compost and collect compost tea. It does both!
Buy Composter/Compost Tea Maker now
More Information:
Buy Flower, Vegetable and Herb Seeds Finest quality
Ferry Morse Seed, America's oldest seed company with their famous "guarantee
to grow".
|
