Deadheading: Get More Out of Your Flowers

Each year spring brings us a plethora of colors in our gardens from soft pastels to bold and vibrant hues, reminding us that winter is now behind us. However, by midsummer your flowerbeds start to fill with brown shriveled reminders of past glory. To prevent this from happening, one must take the time to deadhead spent flowers.

Though deadheading is often associated as a tedious task, it is vital to prolonging the display of a beautiful garden. Not to mention it can reap huge benefits! Below, we’ve listed some of the main reasons you should be deadheading your plants.deadheading spent flowers

Redirect a plant’s energy.

Each year, your flowers are tasked with one mission: to produce seeds in the short lifespan they’ve been given. Once they have accomplished their goal, your flowers will start to brown and shrivel up. By removing flower heads that are past their prime, you are redirecting the plant’s energy into a more favorable direction, which is forcing new blooms and less seed production. In other words, you are tricking the plant into forming new flowers by removing it before it has the chance to produce the seed. This keeps your plants in constant production mode and encourages them to produce more flowers.

Prevent the dispersal of unwanted seeds.

Annuals and some perennials love to toss their seeds around. If given the opportunity, these plants will gradually take over your garden leaving you with an abundance of flowers next year. If you feel you’re spending too much time riding unwanted plants, try removing, or deadheading, the spent flowers. However, if you wish to increase your flower count next year, then leave your flower heads be.

Prolong the flowering period.

As discussed above, deadheading your plants redirects their energy from seed production to flower production, encouraging a second flush of blooms. By continually removing spent flowers before they set their seeds, your flowers will bloom all season long. Why? Flowers develop seeds, and if the flowers sense they haven’t successfully made seeds, they get frustrated and put out new flowers in attempt to set seed again.

Aesthetics

An added, and obvious, benefit to deadheading includes keeping your garden looking tidy. Deadheading kills two birds with one stone – it removes unsightly brown, wilted flower heads while activating a rejuvenation process that creates more colorful blooms!deadheading - flower blooms

Though some new annuals on the market can keep flowering without deadheading (because they naturally drop their flowers), many cannot. For those that can’t, don’t let the dreaded mid-summer season be the end to your peak flower displays. Periodic deadheading is the most important thing to do in your garden to ensure your plants put on a spectacular display all season long!

At Bluegrass Landscaping & Maintenance we provide full service lawn care to commercial properties. Our lawn care experts are equipped with the knowledge and techniques to deadhead plants as it becomes necessary and to maximize the appearance of your current and future landscape. Contact us today by giving us a call at 314-770-2828 or using our simple contact form to discuss your lawn care needs!