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Written by Irene F., Somerset County Rutgers Master Gardener
If your perennials are looking a little worn out and tired after weeks of excessive heat followed by pouring rains, fear not! In most cases your plants can be rejuvenated with a little deadheading.
Summer beauties like daisies, blanket flower, hyssop, bee balm, and butterfly bush can be deadheaded for continued blooming throughout the season. Deadheading is achieved by pruning off the spent flower and the stem below it above a fresh set of leaves. Often there are many sets of leaves. You may choose to cut the stem further down to control the height or shape of the plant. Flowers like yarrow, bellflower, coreopsis, geranium, phlox, and lavender all benefit from a little haircut.
Not all perennials can be deadheaded. Some, like Nepeta (catmint)need to be cut back for complete re-flush of blooms.
Not all flowers need to be deadheaded. Plants like peony, azalea, spring bulbs, and some hydrangeas are exceptions. They don’t need to be deadheaded unless you want:
- a more attractive garden by removing unsightly brown flowers
- to avoid letting the flowers to go to seed
- the plant to focus its energy on root or bulb development rather than the spent flowers
