Deadheading, Pinching, Staking Etc. - Maintaining the Flower Garden

Cutting back and deadheading flowers should be added to your regular gardening maintenance. It only takes a few minutes to stay on top of it and keep your gardens in bloom, as shown here.

Older plants that have been growing for years will eventually start to die out in their centers. To keep them healthy, you will need to lift and divide these plants. Simply follow the steps outlined here and you will have all new plants for your garden.

Bearded Iris are tall, elegant additions to the flower border, but they are also relatively high maintenance. You can help cut down on the incidence of soft rot and borer damage through regular division of the iris rhizomes, every 2-3 years. This will also keep bearded iris performing and blooming at its best. Start by carefully digging and lifting the rhizomes, as shown here.

Many gardeners plant perennials because they think they will be lower maintenance. Unfortunately, some perennials can be very demanding, requiring frequent division, staking , deadheading and watering. So it pays to do some research before you start planting. These 10 perennial flower plants need division only every 10 years or so - if...

Staking is no one's favorite thing to do in the garden, but staking early in the season can make things a whole lot easier as the plants grow.