Re: airhead
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: airhead
- From: B*@aol.com
- Date: Thu, 28 May 1998 07:29:02 EDT
In a message dated 5/28/98 7:11:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time, jplatta@yahoo.com
writes:
<< One of my garden books said to cut back the columbine after flowering
for repeated bloom. Does anyone know how far I should cut them back?
Are we talking leaves or just stems? >>
Dear Jeanne,
Most of the time when we talk about cutting back a perennial flowering plant
to encourage repeat bloom, we are talking about cutting the flower
stalk--deadheading--so that the plant does not begin to produce seed, which
generally stops the flowering. If you think about it, we're really trying to
trick the plant. Plants want to reproduce, as do most species. If you remove
the flower you encourage it to try again to start the reproduction cycle.
If the plant has a flower stalk with leaves on the stalk, you can often just
cut back to just above one of the sets of leaves, particularly a set where you
can already see new growth beginning.
Now I just wish I found Shasta daisies as easy to grow as others do. They
frequently don't live more than a season for me, altlhough I have one that has
returned from last year about to bloom. But then this was a very mild winter
in the Ohio Valley.
Bill Lee
Zone 6a Cincinnati
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
