Master Gardener^sm Column for the Week of August 29, 2005
Carol Weaver
Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^sm Volunteer

When I was in my twenties and thirties, I was one of thousands of Deadheads who followed our favorite band from city to city. As I matured and became more “responsible,” I provided insurance to truckers and learned that deadheading meant hauling an empty truck-trailer to return it to home base or the next scheduled freight pick-up. The only deadheading that interests me these days, however, is the deadheading I do in my garden--removing the dead blossoms from flowering plants.

For many gardeners, the primary purpose of deadheading is to increase bloom production. When a plant goes to seed, it often stops producing new flowers, sometimes long before the blooming season is over. If you remove the faded flowers on plants like marigolds, pansies, calendula, and zinnias, the plant is "tricked" into continuing to put all its energy into continuing to flower. Unless you are collecting seeds for next year, letting the plants form seeds may also weaken the plant and shorten its life.

Daisies, daylilies, dianthus, coreopsis, marigolds, petunias, and geraniums demand deadheading attention and look awful if they are ignored. Even low-water and low-maintenance flowers such as yarrow appreciate the boost of a good deadheading at the end of the season. Habitual deadheading is a means to control disease, since removing dead flowers eliminates an inviting environment for the growth and development of pests such as insects and fungi. Plants with large flower heads should be deadheaded in order to prevent stem breakage and drooping.

Another plant that truly benefits from deadheading is the rose. Cut your roses back to the first set of five leaves and a new bud will likely sprout from that point and you can keep your roses re-blooming throughout the summer. Most old-fashioned roses, however, bloom only once, and hips develop after the flower fades. Don't remove these hips, which look great and provide food for wildlife, especially birds.

It is time to deadhead when a flower starts to brown, wither, shatter, or otherwise appear past its prime. Deadhead tall flowers that sit atop long stems by cutting the spent stem where it connects with the main stem or at the point of new growth. Bushy plants with smaller blossoms, such as dianthus, can be cut all at once all over in order to make the job quicker and simpler.

Experts differ on the importance of deadheading broadleaved evergreens such as azaleas and camellias. If you plan to deadhead, simply snap the faded flower truss with your fingers while holding the branch with your other hand. This should be done as soon as flowers fade. Use care to prevent damaging the new shoots that form directly below the flower cluster.

Although it is unlikely you can seriously harm a plant by eliminating spent blooms, there are some plants whose blooms can be postponed or even eliminated for an entire season if deadheaded at the wrong time. It is safest to cut off hydrangea blooms as they fade, rather than waiting until later in the season. Spring-flowering trees and shrubs in general, including forsythia, spirea, weigelia, flowering almond and quince, sweet shrub, pearl bush, and oriental magnolias should also be pruned immediately after flowering or you will risk reducing the number of flower buds for the next blooming season.

If you want plants to reseed, don’t deadhead before allowing them to set and disperse their seeds. If you want resurgent blooms during the season and you want plants to self-sow, keep deadheading until late in the season and then leave the last blooms to form seed-heads.

More flowering plants that benefit from deadheading:

• Cosmos
• Crape Myrtle--pruning off faded flower clusters of crape myrtle will stimulate the production of new flower buds and a second round of color.
• Petunia--some plants like petunias develop long, gangly stems with only a few blooms on the end. Cutting back these leggy plants helps to rejuvenate them.
• Rudbeckia (brown-eyed susans)--typically, you will have a large bloom show and if you remove the spent flowers you can get another smaller flush of blooms in the fall.
• Snapdragons
• Violas

Self-cleaning plants that don’t require deadheading:

• Anise hyssop
• Begonia
• Cleome
• Gaillardia
• Impatiens
• Lantana
• Mexican Zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia)
• Salvia
• Verbena (groundcover types)
• Vinca

Send your gardening questions or comments to: Brunswick County Master Gardener Column, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, or call (910) 253-2610. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting information or a reply. Answers may be printed in this column.

For further information or assistance, please e-mail:
Charlie Spencer, Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^smVolunteer

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Date Created 8/18/2005