GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — When it comes to perennials, each variety usually has its bloom window and that’s it. See you next year.
But by deadheading - or cutting off the flowers when they are fading - gardeners can sometimes coax those plants into blooming again. Bonus! The key is to cut them before they begin to set seed.
A plant will instinctively want to produce seeds. By cutting off the spent flowers and preventing those seeds from forming, you are tricking the plant to try again to produce seed by making new flowers.
To deadhead, cut the stem below the flower head and just above the first set of leaves.
It doesn’t work for all perennials, but here are a few that will rebloom
- Achillea (Yarrow)
- Astilbe (False Spirea)
- Campanula (Bellflower)
- Centranthus (Jupiter's Beard)
- Coreopsis (Tickseed)
- Delphinium (Larkspur)
- Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)
- Geranium (Cranesbill)
- Monarda (Bee Balm)
- Oenothera (Evening Primrose)
- Phlox paniculata (Garden Phlox)
- Lavender
On the other hand, some perennials NEED those flowers to produce seed for plants in the years to come. Don’t cut off the flowers on these:
- Alcea (Hollyhock)
- Digitalis (Foxglove)
- Lobelia (Cardinal Flower)