Summer Flowers – Gone but not Forgotten

After the flowering party is over…

Stunning Echinacea Meadowbrite Orange blooms at their peak

Their blooms have come and gone and left behind are the fallen petals and the swellings and bulges not unlike those at a mom-to-be convention. After the flowering party is over for many annuals and perennials, a gardener’s task turns to deadheading the finished blooms. The newly forming seed heads need to be removed by pinching, shearing or just plain pruning them out.

For some plants, deadheading is done to improve visual appearance. By removing the finished blooms the plant looks a lot better. Butterfly bush, ageratum, artemisia, Pelargonium (annual geranium), gazania, Solanostemon (coleus), and Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) fall into this category. Besides these, many plants that have white flowers will turn an unsightly brown colour when they are finished blooming. White blooming ageratum is one plant that often needs deadheading to make it look

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