Prune After Bloom
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, it's time to "prune after bloom" - meaning deadhead all the faded flowers in the gardens.
There are different pruning strategies for different times of the year, but overall the goals are the same - to keep the plants looking fresh and open, promote new growth and re-flowering, and to improve the overall health of the plant. Deadheading is one of the easiest forms of pruning - as blooms fade, just cut off the flower stems below the spent blossoms and above the first set of full, healthy leaves. This week, Ryan, Gavin, and Zoe are deadheading roses and various poppies, delphiniums, dianthuses, and others. It’s a tedious task, but the new flowers spawned from this process make the effort well worth it.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Three weeks ago my flower cutting garden was brimming with gorgeous roses. As many of you know, I’ve grown roses for more than 25-years. Many of my rose varieties are prized for their petal formations and fragrances, so maintenance is very important to keep them healthy and productive.
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- Many of the cultivars were transplanted from the gardens at Lily Pond, my home in East Hampton, and all but a handful have not only survived through the years but thrived.
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- This year, we had an abundance of white and various shades of pink, fragrant blooms – both in my cutting garden, down by my allee of lilacs and around my vegetable garden.
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- Now, many of the roses have faded and need to be deadheaded. Proper pruning through the year improves the health of the plants, prevents disease, and encourages better flowering.
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- For roses, Zoe prunes the old blooms off down to the first five-leaf junction just a quarter-of-an-inch above it. This amount of cane left above the junction helps support the new growth and any future blooms.
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- Zoe carefully goes through each bush to deadhead only those flowers that have finished blooming.
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- Here is a cut rose stem – always at a 45-degree angle to help water from sprinklers or rain to run off of the shoot and avoid bacteria or fungi from growing.
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- My XL Multi-Purpose Garden Totes from QVC are perfect for gathering all of the deadheaded clippings – everyone on my outdoor grounds crew loves these bags – they’re so strong and durable. Each one can hold more than 900-pounds!
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- I have roses all around the perimeter of the cutting garden as well as on tall tower trellises in the center and along the footpath – each one will be deadheaded now and then pruned again in winter when it will be trimmed for shape and air circulation.
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- This process takes a couple days to complete in order to get all the roses done. Zoe wears long gloves to protect her hands and arms from the rose prickles.
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- Here is a bush that has been completely deadheaded – it looks so much better all cleaned up.
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- Some of the other plants are also in need of deadheading. These poppy blooms are still looking wonderful, but the one to the far left has already dropped all its petals, leaving only its seed pod.
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- Ryan deadheads the plant below the seed pod. Poppies benefit from this form of care because they can then use their energy to produce more flowers for a longer period of time rather than making seed.
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- Ryan grabs the stem under a spent flower and makes a clean cut. Some poppies may self-seed so extensively and take over the entire space. Deadheading prevents seed development and allows more control of the poppy population.
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- Iris flowers can begin blooming in late winter to early spring. I have many different irises in the garden. This one is still blooming so nicely.
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- Ryan focuses his attention on those irises that have already wilted and turned brown.
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- When deadheading irises, Ryan cuts back the stem near its base using sharp secateurs. The foliage remains – only remove the foliage if it’s damaged or dead.
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- This is called lady’s mantle. Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris. In late spring and early summer, the plant produces lovely chartreuse blooms. I have lady’s mantle lining the main footpaths of the cutting garden.
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- Lady’s Mantle can easily grow out of control. To avoid this, Ryan deadheads the flowers as soon as they begin to wither to prevent self-seeding.
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- Another plant in the garden that needs tending – my dianthus. Dianthus flowers belong to a family of plants which includes carnations and are characterized by their spicy fragrance. There are numerous types of dianthus in my garden – most have pink, red, or white flowers with notched petals.
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- Deadheading dianthus allows the plants to direct their energy into growing more blossoms and denser foliage instead of producing seeds. Here, Ryan cuts the faded flower stem back to the base, just above the nearest set of leaves.
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- And up the carriage road, more deadheading is in progress. Here’s Dawa deadheading the many peonies that have now faded.
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- Deadhead peony blossoms should be done as soon as they begin to brown. Dawa cuts each one back to a strong leaf so that the stem doesn’t stick out of the foliage.
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- This peony flower is still hanging on – such a gorgeous white puff. Soon, it will also fade, but next year, we will have even more peonies to admire. What plants have you been deadheading? Share your gardening comments with me – I love hearing from all of you.
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