3 Things To Know About Pinching Back Perennial Flowers
Many homeowners after familiar with the idea of pruning trees and shrubs, but are relatively unaware that other parts of their landscape require similar maintenance. Pinching and thinning out your perennial flowers at the right time in the growing process will encourage stronger, healthier plants that put out more flowers in the long run. Find out how to properly pinch back your flowers to avoid damage and prolong the flowering of each species.
1. Check the Type of Flower First
Every basic type of landscaping flower has a different response to early season pinching. Plants that flower on single stems, such as daylilies and true lilies, won't produce more buds in response to being pinched. Instead, they won't flower at all. Many wildflowers are also this way, but widely spreading bedding plants like mums and asters will respond well to pinching back in the spring. Check the recommendations for each perennial flower species you have in your home landscape, then make notes of which plants to pinch back at least once per season.
2. Pinch and Thin Early
Waiting too long to pinch back flowers and buds will result in only a lack of flowers with no increases in future flowering or the length of the blooming time frame. For most perennial flowers, you'll find the best results come from pinching off the tips of flower stalks shortly after they develop in late spring or early summer. Waiting until July or later, or until the earliest buds begin flowering, will likely have little positive effect.
The best flowering boosts come from early pinching since each plant has a chance to send up multiple replacements from the same stalk. The effect is lost if you wait until the first flush of flowers are dry and have set seed, although you still want to deadhead these dead flowers off to keep the landscape looking neat.
3. Fertilize for a Second Blooming
If your main goal is to maximize the blooms from a specific perennial plant, you will likely want to give the plant a light application of a bloom-boosting fertilizer around the time you pinch it back. Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen since you're focusing on bud and flower development rather than leaf and stem growth. This encourages your pinched plants to recover quickly and begin working on secondary and tertiary buds and stems right away. Water-soluble fertilizers are the easiest to use in this case because granular amendments may take too long to reach the roots.
For more information, contact your local landscape maintenance service.
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