I thought that traditionally you would deadhead annuals for more blooms, but that perenials had just one shot at blooming.
I am writing to ask specifically about Yarrow, salvia, & sages. They came from the store in bloom and because of lack of water, their blooms have withered. If I remove theses dried blooms, will they bloom again?
Thanks for any help,
Catherine
Should I deadhead?
My yarrow and salvia rebloom after deadheading. It seems to me, if yours only wilted because of lack of water and not seeded, then the bloom is probably finished anyway but the stem itself could recover if you cut just to the next side shoot. Maybe a more experienced gardener will jump in and give you a better answer.
On my Yarrow, I deadhead in stages, cutting just down to side branches. If I cut the complete stem down now, I'd sacrifice those side shoot blooms. If I wait and cut the entire stem after all the stems bloom, then the top part is ugly & ratty looking and the side blooms aren't as big. This seems to help keep the yarrow healthy by eliminating the energy it would take to produce seeds, and focusing more energy towards making more blooms. I only have two cultivars of Salvia, and don't even know the species for 'Victoria Blue' nor 'East Friesland'. So on both, I just snip off spikes as they fade. I do get a good late summer show of blooms just like what they are doing now...blooming their heads off! LOL I don't have sage although I think my Victoria Blue is called mealy cup sage...
Deborah
Cathrine, since I'm up late and want to talk to somebody, let me add that there are many perennials that will definately continue to bloom and also lots of perennials that will rebloom late summer/early fall due to good deadheading tecniques. Some, like my purple coneflower, reblooms fine even without deadheading. Although, deadheading coneflowers to a side shoot does keep the later flowers bigger than they would be if I didn't cut the first ones. Even some of the perennials that won't rebloom, like penstemon, flowering can be prolonged by deadheading to the side branches or buds. Once it's stem is cut all the way down to the ground when it's finished blooming, most often will not rebloom. I try to never say never. Mine did not rebloom for me last year. There's always this year! LOL.