What's deadheading?

June 20, 2008

Say goodbye to faded flowers and hello to lots more blooms. Snipping or pinching faded flowers from annuals and perennials (called deadheading) does more than improve the plants’ appearance. It also encourages the plant to keep on blooming. Do it for flowers such as coneflowers, coreopsis, marigolds, petunias, and zinnias. On plants that have flower “stalks,” (geraniums and Heuchera, or coral bells, for instance), cut at the bottom of the stem.