Marigolds are versatile plants with various uses in both home and garden settings. Here are some lesser-known uses and benefits of marigolds, with a focus on their importance in the garden.
28.06.2023 - 09:00 / southernliving.com
Deadheading your flowers is an easy garden task, but is it completely necessary? The answer is sometimes! Deadheading, or removing spent blooms and seed pods, encourages someannuals to bloom over and over and someperennials to rebloom.
Here’s why deadheading works to encourage more blooms: Plants have one job in life, which is to make seeds in order to reproduce. After a plant flowers, it puts all its energy into producing seeds. When you deadhead, the plant still wants to reproduce, so it pushes out more flowers in an attempt to make more seeds. In a way, you’re tricking it into reblooming.
Deadheading alsoprevents the reseeding of self-sowing plants, such as morning glories or columbine, which drop tons of seeds that pop up again in your garden next spring. That’s fine if you don’t mind lots of new baby plants in that area, but it’s annoying if you don’t want a certain plant in a specific location.
Removing spent blooms also allows you to keep a close eye on your plants to scout for early signs of pests or disease. Deadheading keeps your garden looking neat and tidy, too. It’s also somewhat meditative (and so satisfying!) to wander around the garden deadheading at a leisurely pace with your morning cup of coffee in hand.
Here’s how and why you should deadhead and when it’s not necessary:
How To Deadhead FlowersIt’s super-simple:Use your fingers or garden snips to cut off the faded flower head. Make sure you get the entire seedpod that’s forming behind the flower, not just the flower petals. Aim for a spot below the flower and just above the first leaves on the stem. Also, be careful you’re not accidentally taking off any new buds hiding in the foliage.
Flowers That Should Be DeadheadedMany annuals look and perform their
Marigolds are versatile plants with various uses in both home and garden settings. Here are some lesser-known uses and benefits of marigolds, with a focus on their importance in the garden.
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