ARE YOU A DEAD-HEADER?

If someone had asked me this question about thirty years ago I would have said....well I like some of their songs (the Grateful Dead) but I'm more of a Rolling Stones fan. Who knew that dead heading had anything to do with gardening. Now I know. But the question is how does one do it and why. The why part is simple. Deadheading is nothing more than trimming off spent flowers, keeping plants tidy, and ensuring maximum bloom time. Some gardeners worry that if done imperfectly, it might harm the plant. But unless you really whack away at it, it's tough to kill or badly deform a plant by deadheading.

Now on to the how to part. Isn't this why you came here anyway.

1. Flowers that feature woody stems. These would be plants such as phlox, peony, aster, coneflower (Echinacea spp.), coreopsis, hosta, zinnia, lily, and Rudbeckia. Using a sharp bladed pruner such as the OXO floral snips, the Fiskars Floral Snips or the Barnel Bonzai Scissors, cut off the spent flower a quarter-inch above the next bud. Or in the case of the following flowering plants: delphinium, floxglove, veronica, salvia, yarrow, geranium, and rose; cut off the faded spikes of these flowers to encourage a second flush of bloom.
2. Long stem flowers: Breaking off the flower where the stem meets the stalk is the way to sucessfully dehead long-stem flowers, such as this daylily, that grow in a sucession of blooms on a single stalk. Pull down gently on the spent flower until it cleanly snaps off. Breaking off faded daylilies will add to the plant's appearance if not the overall flower productivity. Other flowers to break off incude iris, Gladiola, and hollyhock.
3. Herbaceous flowers, such as chrysanthemums: You don't need a pruner for dead heading these plants. Just use your thumb and forefinger to pinch off old blooms, especially on compact plants that feature many flowers. Pinch off faded flowers about a quarter-inch above new buds. Pinch impatiens, marigold, pansy, petunia, viola, dianthus, poppy, cosmos, and columbine.