DeadHeading And Pruning
Posted on 22 May 2008
When pruning and deadheading, you must consider the nature of your plant. Just as there is a difference between a bad discount haircut done by someone fresh out of beauty school and an incredible hairstyle done by a skilled hairdresser, there is a difference between a handyman/handywoman who carelessly prunes and deadheads a garden and a gardener who puts some thought and feeling into their pruning and deadheading because they simply love to garden. One looks natural and the other often does not. That is because a true gardener pays attention to their plant. You need to consider how it grows, why it grows, even when it grows.
Deadheading is when you clip off a flower when it begins to fade.
Pruning is cutting branches from plants.
There are a couple of reasons to do these things.
One of the reasons to deadhead is to keep a flower from going to seed so that it doesn’t reseed itself and scatter around your garden like a weed, if it is prolific.
Another reason to deadhead is to increase blooms. Even if you are a seed saver, you may want to deadhead a few of your fading flowers. Why? Because, for the most part, when done correctly, deadheading produces more flowering. If you are a seed saver, I would suggest that you make a note of your favorite flowers (the ones that are the healthiest, the biggest and the brightest) and deadhead your less favorite ones (the ones which are a bit weaker, smaller and a bit dull). You can watch for your favorites to go to seed, while watching many more blooms than you originally anticipated, if you deadhead.
The main reason for pruning is to get rid of old or weak growth which allows the plant to make room for the new growth. One should never prune new growth unless it is diseased or infested or unless you are desiring a “formal”, “tailored, “bonsai” or “topiary” garden.
There are a couple main mistakes people make when they deadheading and pruning.
The least that will happen as a result of an unskilled pruning or deadheading is that the plant ends up looking very unnatural, the worst that could happen is that you could actually kill or damage your plant. When deadheading or pruning, ALWAYS look for a place to cut that looks “natural” like it would be a place for a natural break. Look at the natural bend of the plant and where nature would break it off.
It wouldn’t break it off at the base of the plant or the strongest part of the stem so you shouldn’t either. When you deadhead or prune too low, you also kill off much of the new growth and even new buds which were ready to open.
As well, if you deadhead or prune too high up at the base of the flower because nature would not have broken it there either. Instead, look for the first set of leaves where it is a bit weaker and more prone to snap off naturally.
When you make your cut, simply cut just above the bend where the leaves and the stem connect. This not only looks more natural it IS more natural. It can make all the difference, instead of your plant looking like it just got chopped, you will barely be able to see where you made your cuts, when you make a step back. Cutting your plant where nature would have cut it is also more natural for the plant which makes it easier to heal and continue its growth.
If you cut too high up, often you are left not with a deadhead but a dead stick which turns brown and unsightly.
If you cut too low, you risk killing the plant or damaging a large portion of the plant.
So, remember, look for where the plant would naturally break, to do the least amount of damage, when deadheading and pruning.