Gardening: Expert demonstrates how to deadhead flowers
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Lupins are perfect to add a pop of colour to your garden. They will bring that cute cottage feel to any outdoor space giving your borders height and colour. Their beautiful flowers will attract lots of pollinators such as bees to keep your garden in good health. But, how should you maintain these plants?
Lupins are a great addition to any garden as they are relatively easy to grow at home.
Although they prefer full sun to shade and thrive in moist but well-drained soil they can cope with being grown in containers.
So no matter what your garden size, provided it is well lit, you should be able to grow lupins at home.
Lupins produce gorgeous flowers that blossom in May and June.
With the Lupin season starting to come to an end, how can you make sure your flowers last?
Should you cut back lupins?
If you are fortunate enough to have lupins growing in your garden you should be looking to cut them back now.
Old, faded flowers should be removed to encourage further flower growth.
This cutting back of flower heads is called deadheading and it is carried out by avid gardeners to enable a second bloom.
If you remove old flowers that have faded, died or become damaged you will improve the chance of your plant producing more flowers to take its place.
This will extend the flowering season of your plant, ensuring lupins provide a pop of colour for your garden for as long as possible.
Deadheading is also important to maintain good plant health, as it can prevent your lupins from becoming diseased.
When should you cut back lupins?
You should carefully deadhead lupins once their flowers have faded or died.
BBC’s Gardener’s World states: “In autumn, cut lupins right back to the ground after collecting seed.
“Lupins are not long-lived plants – expect to replace plants after about six years.”
Lupins should be deadheaded regularly throughout their flowering season.
It is important to regularly check your lupins and to remove flowers as soon as they become faded or damaged.
Old flowers needlessly drain the plant of its energy preventing the plant from producing further blooms.
It only takes a few minutes to do and is essential to ensure new growth so this simple task should not be neglected.
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