By Anita Gall, University of Nebraska Extension Master Gardener
What is deadheading a plant, and why do it? Deadheading is removing the spent bloom from a plant and should be done when the flower starts to fade and die. Like most things in nature, plants want to reproduce, so to keep them blooming, you need to trick it into thinking that it hasn’t completed its life cycle. When the flower is removed, the plant produces more flowers because seeds are formed in the flower. I’m Anita Gall, University of Nebraska Extension Master Gardener.