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Annuals/deadheading annuals

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Expert: - 4/21/2009


Question
QUESTION: I'm growing a number of annuals in a greenhouse and want to known what annuals need deadheading in order to increase blooming. I've already done my marigolds but I would like to get a listing so I know what others need this procedure.
Thanks

ANSWER: Deadhead EVERYTHING, Chuck.  Seed-making is exhausting for a plant.  It takes enormous amounts of energy and resources to bloom and go to seed.  The less energy they waste on any of that, the more is left for blooming and being beautiful.

This goes for perennials, tropical houseplants, herbs, bulbs, even trees and shrubs.

Remove spent flowers as soon as they begin their decline, and you'll get maximum pleasure out of the entire blooming season.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My situation is not in the garden but in a greenhouse growing environment. I want the seedlings to bush out without becoming tall and spindly. We have marigolds, geraniums, salvia, and other annuals. Thanks.

Answer
Ah ha!  You are not deadheading, my friend.  You are PINCHING.  That is a very good idea.

Note however you will delay flowering if you do this.  Professional growers not only pinch their seedlings and intermediate plants, they also treat them to a lot of growth regulators and plant hormones to obtain a stocky plant that will develop a lot more flower buds on lateral shoots than they would if left to Nature.  Pinching turns on the side-growth mechanisms and puts the flowering mechanisms on hold.  Nothing big -- just a small delay.  Possily significant for you, though.

A single pinching session ought to give you the best of both worlds.

The Long Island Gardener

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Long Island Gardener

Expertise

Decisions, decisions... If you can't make up your mind which Annuals to grow, you're not alone. Problem with your new flowering Annuals flats? I`ve been there, done that. Petunias, Sweet Alyssum, Larkspur, Marine Blue Lobelia -- they all grow here at my house on Garden Street on Long Island, N.Y.. Cutting and Cottage Gardens, Sun and Shade Gardens, White Gardens and Night Gardens, I`ve done them all. Annuals are the perfect summer flower, bursting with color June through fall's first frost. I can`t speak on Cactus or tender Tropical Plants -- they don`t grow outside in my Zone 7. I`m no Farmer, so I cannot guide you on Fruits and Vegetables. But whether it`s an Annual you want to start from seed, mail-order or pick up at your local garden center, I can help you grow amazing blooms this Summer. Yes, together, we can turn your neighbors green with envy.

Experience

I have a lifetime of gardening behind me here on the North Shore of Long Island. While I have degrees in related fields, there's nothing like hands-on work to build real knowledge. I stay on top of current science -- there's a boom in research, and Kingdom Plantae is filled with surprises. By the way, I really do live on Garden Street.

Publications
Gannett newspapers, The New York Times, and hundreds of others - but not on Annuals.

Education/Credentials
B.A., botany; graduate credits in European Intellectual History and Political Science; minor coursework in related fields, docent training at our local botanical gardens (required for volunteers). I'm currently working on an advanced biochemistry degree.

Awards and Honors
I could tell you, but then you'd know who I am.

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