Perennials are those plants that come back year after year. Although they do not require a lot of work, for the most part, they still do need some attention, even over the summer months.

 

By now some of the early blooming perennials have already finished blooming and could benefit from a cleaning up. Removing the finished flowers keeps plants looking tidy, healthy, and could promote more blooms.

 

Removing the finished flowers prevents the plant from forming seed which takes energy away from the plant, and instead that energy is used to promote more blooms and also healthy foliage.

Some perennials will produce a second flush of flowers or will bloom for a longer period of time when the old flowers are removed.

 

Deadheading also prevents a lot of unnecessary weeding as some varieties of perennials are easy self sowers, meaning that the matured seeds will drop to the ground and start to grow. This can become quite a chore to clean up. A few perennials that are known for self sowing are Jacobs Ladder, Dianthus, Siberian Iris, Columbine, and Campanula.

 

Deadheading is done differently on different plants. If it is a single flower such as a peony the flower is removed by snipping the off to the nearest leaf. On other perennials such as day lilies that have numerous flowers on one stem, only the finished flower is removed to the nearest bloom to allow all the other flowers to open up and bloom. Low growing perennials such as creeping phlox, Candytuft, Thyme, Pinks, etc can be sheared back after they have finished blooming. This keeps the plant nicely shaped, and full looking, as well as preventing the centre from opening up.

 

Other perennials such as Oriental Poppies, can be cut right back to 15-20 cm from the ground after they finish blooming. The foliage dies back over the summer months and sometimes will come back in the fall with a second smaller flush of blooms.

 

Some perennials produce attractive seed pods that attract the birds. Coneflowers, Sedum and Black eyed Susan, can have their seed pods left for the birds. I tend to remove these towards the end of September/October when we get the yard ready for winter.

 

Deadheading does not have to be a huge chore, it can be quite enjoyable. Go out every 2-3 days and walk through the landscape with a pair of snippers or pruners. It is also a good time to check for any pests or diseases, and also remove any dead leaves. While deadheading you might come back with a beautiful homegrown bouquet of flowers to bring indoors!