Growing Concerns: Take part in deadhead movement

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How do we keep our gardens looking amazing? The daffodils and tulips have begun to fade as the iris and peonies begin to bloom.

Besides watering that I talked about last week, one of the things I find makes a garden look good is deadheading, a term used to describe removing spent flower booms from the plant.

Some gardeners find the job a chore while others find it therapeutic. The whole idea of a flower is based on the fact all plants flower to produce seed so they themselves can reproduce. The faster we remove those blooms the more the plant will continue to bloom until it can produce seed.

From time to time I watch people who think they’re being helpful by breaking the flower heads off geraniums, but the truth is you need to take the stem along with the flower head. The best way to deadhead is to remove the flower and the flower stock right down to the first set of leaves.

You might ask why? It’s because the plant doesn’t know the flower head has been broken off and therefore continues to send energy into that stem. By removing the stem, the plant knows the bloom is gone and will try and produce a new flower to finish the cycle.

How best do you remove the blooms? Some blooms you’re able to break off by using your finger nails or even just your fingers. I prefer to use a small pair of pruning shears, but other gardeners I know prefer a pair of scissors. Whatever it is you use, it’s important to get a clean sharp cut because they will heal faster and prevent diseases and insects from entering the plant.

Roses are one of those plants that really benefit from deadheading. In the case of single stem roses, it’s best to cut the stem all the way down to the first leaflet that has five leaves. If you look at a stem of roses, the first few leaves on the stem closest to the rose will only have three parts to the leaf (leaflets) but farther down the stem you will begin to see leaves with five leaflets.

The new flower stem will come from this area, so best to remove the part of the stem that will take up energy but not produce any roses.

If you have roses that bloom in clusters or bunches, remove the finished flowers until they’re all done and then cut back to the first leaf with five leaflets.

Gardening is meant to be an adventure, so take some time and smell the roses as you deadhead in the garden.