Saturday, July 07, 2007
Deadhead flowers to prolong blooming
Libba Wolfe
Libba Wolfe's column appears twice monthly in Extra.
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It's easy to make excuses this time of year. Either it's so darn hot and muggy I don't want to go outside. Or it's so delightful -- like last weekend -- I just want to sit in the yard with a glass of iced tea and a good book.
Earlier this week I caught up with two expert gardening friends. I knew Paul James and Holly Scoggins, head of the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech, were not slacking off. What they had to say made me put my book down and get to work.
Right off the bat, Holly recommended Tracy DiSabato-Aust's "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden" as the best maintenance handbook available. She says you can't beat it as a guide to deadheading and prolonging bloom time.
Keep in mind that the entire growing cycle of annuals and perennials is aimed toward seed production. If dead blooms are left on the stem, the plant's energy will be directed toward making seed. If fading blooms are removed, many plants will continue to bloom or put out new growth.
Knowing this will help you make deadheading decisions. Last year, my foxgloves were gorgeous. I decided to let them go to seed, then removed the stalks and shook them around the borders. I didn't quite realize how successful that would be. I'm still pulling out the gazillion seedlings. This year I'm deadheading.
The three verbena bonariensis I planted in May are airy, 5 feet tall and covered with purple blooms. They are annuals but will reseed themselves for next year. Because I'm trying to establish a healthy patch of them, I'm not removing the spent blooms. I hope I'm not setting myself up for another foxglove debacle.
The echinacea is a tough call. Last year I left all the seed heads for the birds to feast on. And because I had plenty of bare space, I didn't mind the seedlings.
I didn't realize how quickly echinacea takes over. Already, one end of my border looks like a jungle. This year I'll deadhead and leave just a few for the lemon-yellow finches.
I didn't know that euphorbia seed bracts should be removed. That would account for all the sprouts in the front yard. I'm planning to move all the babies into the border in fall. In the meantime, it's time to trim up the mothers.
I keep gloves and clippers by the back door so every time I have a few minutes, I can tidy up. This summer I've spent an enormous amount of time on the phone with my daughter, who just had a baby. It's a great time to deadhead while on the cordless.
Removing the brown blooms from shasta daisies and heliopsis will keep them blooming and upright. The spent bloom stalks from iris and daylilies are unsightly and can be cut. Any brown bulb foliage on the ground should be removed. Don't cut back green leaves as they are still making food for the roots.
If you haven't already given your creeping phlox and perennial dianthus a haircut, it's time. Shape them up and they won't collapse in the August heat.
Every time you stroll past the basil and coleus, nip off the blooms. The plants will produce more foliage, which is the whole point of basil and coleus.
By now, asters and chrysanthemums should be cut and shaped up. Removing the bud sets and taking the plants down to about 8 inches tall in June will delay the bloom time and reward you with a beautiful plant in the fall. I forgot to trim a purple aster last summer and I swear to you it was a sprawling 8-foot-square brute by mid-August.
My hardy geraniums are blooming but scraggly. It's time to cut them back. They'll bloom again. Same goes for salvia, catmint, veronica, monarda and phlox paniculata. In fact, everything that's leggy and floppy needs to be cleaned up.
While you've got the clippers in hand, you can certainly do some light pruning. Take a step back from shrubs and small trees to see if any new branches are ruining the shape. Limb up small trees so growth energy will be directed to the crown.
If you haven't gotten around to feeding the perennials, it's now or next year. Any later this season and the roots could be in an active growth stage when winter arrives. That's not good.
Annuals can be fertilized right up until the bitter end. They should be deadheaded regularly. You'll be rewarded with a shapely plant full of new growth if you "whack back now, without mercy," as Holly says.
She said when she was in the University of Georgia horticulture program, they had a modified cheer for this time of year. I can just see those Georgia Bulldog gardeners leaping around the beds yelling, "Cut 'em back, cut 'em back, waaaaay back!"
It's tempting to take a break. But we're not quite halfway through this growing season. Watering, weeding, deadheading and cutting back right now will determine how your garden looks for the rest of this year. Maybe there will be time for tea and books in August.
To Do: I hesitate to give you this tip. The garden books say not to do it, but it's worked for me. I worry about dried-out pots when I'm going to be gone longer than a week. I crowd the outdoor pots into a shallow plastic container meant for under-bed storage. I put them in a shady spot, water thoroughly and add a few inches of water to the plastic container. I do the same for indoor pots and leave them on the bedroom floor.
Try at your own risk. The books say not to leave plants in standing water, but I haven't lost one yet.
