Echinacea (above) and Zinnias

About Franklin Park Conservatory
1777 E. Broad St.
Columbus, Ohio 43203
614-645-8733, 800-214-PARK

ADMISSION*
$10 for adults
$8 for seniors and students
$5 for children ages 3 to 17
Members and children under 2 FREE
* All exhibitions are included in the
general admission price
HOURS
Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Open holiday Mondays
Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day
HOLIDAY HOURS
The Conservatory is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day,
Columbus Day, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve,
and New Year's Day. Thanksgiving Eve hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

deadheading: your garden will be grateful

By Barbara Arnold

Deadheading – what does it mean? It’s a useful trick to fool Mother Nature and prolong the bloom time of flowering plants, simply by removing spent flower heads. The idea is simple: a plant produces flowers to be pollinated to produce seed, thus guaranteeing the species survives. As a reaction to the removal of pollinated flowers, the plant produces more flowers to perpetuate the pollination and seed production cycle. Another reason for deadheading is that it keeps the garden cleaner by removing spent petals that can promote disease and fungus problems.

Proper technique
Deadheading should happen as soon as the flower petal colors start to fade. If this is done regularly, every day or two, the task is less burdensome, leaving you free to enjoy the garden. Deadheading can be done in a number of ways. Using your thumbnail and index finger, pinch the stem of the plant, breaking it off. This method works best for petunias, pansies, basil, and coleus. Geraniums and marigolds benefit from “snapping,” or using your hands to break and remove the flower stem. Thicker or tougher plants, such as salvia, zinnia, daisies, or roses, need to be cut with scissors or pruners. A clean cut is better for plant health, as it won’t have to heal and will be better equipped to ward off disease.

Some plants are “self-cleaning,” like impatiens and wax begonias, and slough off spent flowers to continue blooming. However, plants such as petunias and flowering tobacco need to have the entire flower removed all the way to the main plant stem. Don’t leave the “green trumpet”; this is where the seeds form and by doing this you’re really only removing petals. Leaving long, leafless stems to languish prevents plants from producing flowers and even food. If the stems are left, plants will continue to waste energy trying to feed them and this weak spot becomes a place for diseases to enter.

It all depends on the plant as to where you remove the spent flowers. Zinnias and salvias should have spent flowers removed to the next set of shoots on the stem, and sometimes this is found way inside the plant. Single stemmed plants, like daisies and hosta, should be cut back the entire flowering stem, all the way to the ground. This enables the daisy to put out a new flush of leaves, while the existing hosta leaves hide the cut stem.

Some plants require more diligence than others. Daylilies are only open for one day, leaving them with spent flowers that should be removed almost daily. When the entire flowering stalk is finished it should be removed to the ground, as the stems will look unsightly. For plants with multiple flowers on a stem, like False sunflowers and coneflowers, wait until the entire stem has bloomed and then cut it off at the base. Plants that bloom on top of the foliage, such as Coreopsis varieties, should be sheared as this is the easiest way to remove the flowers. Deadheading some perennials such as balloon flowers, blanket flowers, foxglove, and hollyhock, can significantly lengthen their blooming time. Astilbe, goatsbeard, lilyturf, and peonies need to be deadheaded frequently to keep the plant looking tidy and healthy.

Fall plants
On fall blooming perennials and rose bushes it is best to stop deadheading, letting the plant prepare itself for winter. Leaving some perennials with spent flower heads, such as sedum, can provide winter interest. Coneflowers are a good food source for birds in the late fall and winter, but keep in mind any uneaten seeds will produce more plants for next season, and if unwanted, become weeds.

Barbara Arnold is horticulture designer for Franklin Park Conservatory. E-mail gardening questions to her at info@ourohio.org

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