Is your garden filling up with spent flowers?
Is your garden filling up with spent flowers? If you don’t mind the mix of fresh and mature flowers, you can absolutely leave them alone. Shrubs don’t need to be deadheaded to remain healthy or, if they rebloom, to keep the show going! But if you have the itch to snip, we’ve listed shrubs you can deadhead (as long as you’re careful)!
Deadheading definition: The removal of spent or unattractive flowers. This is done to either improve your view or save the plant some energy.
General how-to for deadheading: Follow the stem of the spent flower down to a set of leaves and snip just above them. Even shrubs that flower on old wood can be deadheaded.
There are a number of reasons flowers on a newly planted shrub would turn brown, but the most common is stress. Shrubs planted in the summer are more sensitive to heat and water stress, and the plant’s first priority is to maintain the foliage and build a root system. This may result in the flowers spending faster than normal. It’s best to just deadhead them to save the plant energy. After the plant is established, its future blooms will last longer.
SNIP
Some spent flowers either aren’t handsome or actively waste the plant’s energy by turning into seeds. In both cases, they can be removed.
*Annuals: Marigolds, Geraniums, Dahlias
*Lilac
*Hydrangea
*Butterfly Bush
*Rose Bushes
*Spirea
*Perennials: Coneflower, Hosta, Daisy, Black Eyed Susan, Coreopsis, Lady’s Mantle, Salvia
Shrubs that promise a fall or winter show with berries, hips, or elegant looking dried flowers don’t have to be cut.
