Deadhead?

Okay, I know I should know, but I don't, so somebody please tell me what "deadheading " means.
I figured it means cutting way back, but it probably isn't, so someone please tell me

It's just removing the spent flowers so the plant will make more. Some plants it makes a big difference if you do. If some plants "go to seed", it can 'think' its life is over and go dormant or at least stop making flowers. I deadhead the marigolds everyday so they keep blooming.

Geraniums and most perennials thrive best when deadheaded.

Thanks. I have been doing that just didn't know what it was called. I haven't been doing enough of it, so I will do more.

Lorraine, I saw a huge difference in my black eyed susans this summer when I did not deadhead. I suddenly realized that I didn't have many blooms left, and it was getting very unattractive. The stems were turning black. I took my snipers out and cut away every blooms that was dead or dying - almost all of the blooms. I figured that these plants were spent for the season. Imagine my surprise in a couple of weeks when these same plants had two to three times as many blooms on them.

Marigolds and roses are notorious (at least in my garden!) for not blooming if not deadheaded regularly.

I always knew from reading that deadheading made a difference, but when you compare plants that you deadhead regularly with those you don't, there is no comparison. The deadhead plants will bloom longer in the season, and have more blooms in general. If you have a section of plants next season try not deadheading one or two and compare them with the others in the group - you'll be amazed at the results.

There are a few houses that I pass by regularly whose plants have stopped producing weeks or months ago, while mine are still blooming, and I attribute the difference to deadheading, since I can see their old dead blooms are still on the stems.

Lorraine,
You may already know this but, while deadheading flowers helps them bloom more and longer, down here in the deep south when it gets really hot during the middle of summer, lot's of our flowers will slow down or stop blooming until it begins to cool off a little. Right now I have several flowers that are blooming again since they aren't getting baked to death (and I did keep them deadheaded all summer).

Thanks to all of you. I always just said I was cutting it back to make more blooms!
Oh well, at least now I know what it's called and I can act smart next time some one asks what I'm doing!!!

Pennefeather, Do your black blackeyed suns grow wild. They do here and believe it or not, lots of people just mow them down. Can you believe it? There are so many growing in the back close to the woods and in the woods. next year I will deadhead them

Where are the seeds on them. I have so many, I'd love to find seeds and give them to someone.

Lorraine, you'll find the answer here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/25
I love them--they grow wild here, too!

My Jackmani Clematis bloomed like crazy late spring, I cut it back about 2 ft cuz it was getting so large, and I have had blooms throughout the whole summer and its still blooming!
I didn't know clematis would keep blooming.

All plants will benefit from deadheading, once the flowers fade, the plant wants to set seed to reproduce, scatter their seeds so that if they die, then new plants will grow and the strain will continue for eternity, so we dead head to stop the plants seeding as this takes energy from the plant, soon as it makes seeds, it wants to either die as in annuals, or as in perennials, they get weaker by forming seeds and stop flowering as their job is done, so we trick them into producing more flowers as they think they need to make more seeds, deadheading is the way to trick them,
some perennials will throw out a second flush of flowers not always as good as the first blooms, but like the Clematis, it needed to make more flowers for seeds, also if you let plants form seeds the first year they flower, then they dont build up good roots that year and the perennial becomes week for the next year. hope this helps you to understand plants natural lifespan, on most plants by the way, it is far better to deadhead a few flowers each day or so as the fade, than to wait till you have to remove all the flowers at once, plants dont normally produce every flower all at the one time, so often if better that a whole plant with a hair cut. good luck and happy gardening. Weenel.

WeeNel,
Thanks for the info, you are like a living library of knowledge :)

Your very welcome, we all asked these questions at some time when we were doing our first garden, once you know these things and the more you learn about plants, it becomes second nature to you, so always ask for help, there are lots of great people visit the site and someone will be happy to help. Happy Gardening and good luck. WeeNel.