How to get more cut flowers by deadheading - The Stopwatch Gardener

Want to know how to get more cut flowers from cosmos daisies? It's easy. Deadheading a half-hardy annual flower like cosmos will lead to many more flowers as sideshoots develop. Actually what works even better than dead-heading is live-heading -- taking off the first flower on the plant to encourage more buds to develop. I count four sets of leaves from the soil, and nip off the flower head, even if it's the only flower on the plant. That encourages the plant to produce many more side-shoots as it works hard to create seeds -- its mission in life! This tip was shared on a podcast I listen to, from a wise flower farmer based in Virginia, in the US. It worked brilliantly for me, and I hope it works for you! Find out more from my blog at The Stopwatch Gardener - http://www.stopwatchgardener.com