Keep Annual Flowers Blooming Longer
by Don Janssen, Extension Educator
For blossoms all season, flowers like
these
marigolds should be deadheaded
regularly
Flowering annuals are generally so easy and dependable that gardeners tend to plant them and forget them. As the summer progresses, that can mean reduced flowering and a display that's less attractive than it could be. It takes only a little attention, however, to keep annuals flowering profusely until frost. One thing gardeners can do is remove faded flowers and developing seed structures. This practice, called deadheading, is particularly important with geraniums, snapdragons, zinnias, pansies and the larger marigolds.
The life's work of annual plants is to produce seed. If you pick off the faded flowers, the plants will keep producing more. If you allow the seeds to develop, the plant has no reason to flower any longer. Many flowers will keep blooming without deadheading, but they may still benefit from having faded flowers removed. They'll look better, for one thing, and they can use the energy they would have devoted to maturing seed to producing more blossoms.
Some plants - petunias and coleus, particularly - may get straggly-looking by midsummer. Elongated stems with few branches and diminishing flower production indicate it's time for drastic action. Use hedge shears or some other sharp-bladed implement to cut leggy plant stems back to 3- to 4-inch stubs with some foliage. Weed and feed and water, then wait. In two to four weeks, plants should be filled out with lots of side branches and blossoming with new vigor.
If you vacation in midsummer, cut plants back right before you leave. When you return, they'll look better than they did when you left, and they'll soon reward you for your efforts with a spectacular flower display that should continue until frost.
(This resource was updated July 2002 and appeared in the Lincoln Journal Star Newspaper Sunday edition. For information on reproducing this article or using any photographs or graphics, read the Terms of Use statement)
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