Nancy Wiersma: Why exactly do we need to deadhead? And what is it?

Published 8:23 pm Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Deadheading is the process of either pinching or cutting off fading flowers after they have finished blooming.

This will not only make your garden look a whole lot tidier, but another greater reason for doing so is it will cause the plant to put the majority of its energy back into growth and a second flush of flowers instead of seed formation.

Now this second flush of flowers will be nowhere as great as the first, but, hey, at least they are flowers.

You see, the process of developing seeds can weaken a plant and, in the case of some annuals, sometimes this can even shorten a plant’s life.

And during this process of setting seed, this may also cause the plant to stop flowering, so if you want to enjoy your garden to its fullest and keep the flowers coming as long as possible, deadhead.