With the long weekend ahead of us, now may be a good time to take on deadheading some of your perennials. Perhaps they have already bloomed or were a casualty to too much heat and not enough water. Whatever the reason,deadheading can encourage reblooming for some perennials and a cleaner look for others.
The purpose of your deadheading and subsequent cuttings needs to be determined by the type of perennial you are cutting. Can it rebloom, or does deadheading just add to the perennial's overall look? Overall, though, deadheading spent blooms can redirect plant energy for use elsewhere, such as stems and roots. There are a number of resources out there that can help you determine if your perennial will rebloom.
Depending on the type of perennial in your garden, there are various deadheading techniques that work best. For perennials with multiple bloom offshoot from a central stalk, such as salvia, cutting the spent branch works well. Best place to cut is above a leaf node. For flowers that come up on singular stalk, like coral bells, cutting down to the base will encourage more growth.
Other perennials like peonies and Bergenia are not going to rebloom but deadheading still have benefits. For some, it prevents seed formation and promotes a healthy bulb, while for others, it serves as solely an aesthetic purpose. Many non-reblooming perennials also benefit from being able to redirect their energy toward other parts of the plant, driving a healthier plant overall.
