What plants like to be deadheaded?

I know I should deadhead roses, and petunias, but I have a lot of flowers and bushes that I'm just clueless on.

Are there any plants/flowers/bushes that you should NOT deadhead? Any that could be harmed by deadheading?

Thanks in advance!

Jenta

Once a plant has flowered it puts its energy into seed making ....so it is a good idea to dead head if you want longer flowering.:)

I can't think of any plants where it would hurt to deadhead them, the worst that happens is you wasted your time if it's one of the types of plants that won't rebloom no matter what (there are a few of those) Most annuals will bloom again if you deadhead, many perennials will but some won't.

'lop off their heads' is one of my mottos, lol

Every plant that I don't want to collect seed from is deadheaded, ruthlessly, actually pinching off the flower at the next set of leaves down on the stem.

When I plant out annuals, all buds and existing flowers are also nipped off. This forces the plant to concentrate on putting out roots, THEN get to work on creating the flowers.

Sure, the plants look a little bare, but in a couple of weeks, they are budding up like mad things.

Great. Thanks!

So for a plant like day lillies, I can cut the whole stem all the way down?

Butterfly bush, just lop off the flowering part?

Hydrangia, too?

I'm just afraid I'm gonna kill something, because this is all new plantings this year.

I was told once that for things like lilacs, forsythia, any bushes that flower, you don't want to cut all the flowers off or they won't come back the next year. I guess that's not true huh?

yup, you're on the right track!

stuff like lilac and forsythia bloom next year on this year's growth. Removing the dead flowers will not affect next years growth, (unless you cut the bush back to the ground...)

pruning to deadhead or to shape up a plant rarely causes it to die.

I've tried cutting obnoxious shrubs back to ground level (TRYING to kill them) only to have them leap back to life the following spring....=(

When my neighbour was very new to gardening, we planted some annuals in her garden.

Once we had them in the ground, I suggested that we lop off the flowers and buds. She looked at me like I was nutz. But, we lopped off the flowers and buds..... a couple of weeks later, her annuals were georgeous! lush and full, full of blooms/buds.....

We actually greet each other with a shouted 'lop off their heads' when we're carrying our pruners.......

I think I was like your neighbor! I remember the first time someone suggested to me that I "pinch" everything back. I was pain stricken! But, but, but, but.....they're doing so well!!!! LOL.

This is the first year I've actually been able to "garden." When I was working I just stuck things in the ground and then forgot about them. Now I can wander the yard at leisure and really check things out and see what's going on.

Thanks for your help! :)

You do have to be a bit careful on lopping back shrubs--some shrubs can be pruned to the ground and come back from it, but some can't. (generally the ones that you're cutting down to get rid of them will come back but the ones you really wanted to keep won't! LOL) That's beyond deadheading though, so my comment about deadheading not being bad for anything that I can think of still holds true.