Extend Your Annuals' Bloom Season: Stop Seeds, Get More Flowers

Late summer is peak annual performance—but without intervention, seed production shuts down flowering. Here's how to squeeze maximum color into fall.

Deadhead Relentlessly

Remove spent blooms before they set seed. Seed formation signals the plant to stop flowering; preventing it extends the show.

Disease Watch

• Late summer humidity fuels mildew on roses, zinnias, phlox: apply fungicide
• Black spot on roses: captan controls it

Feed Second-Flush Delphiniums

Side-dress with complete plant food (handful per plant), scratch in, water well.

Divide Crowded Lily-of-the-Valley

Non-blooming or weak clumps? Dig, divide, replant. They multiply rapidly in good soil—divide every ~5 years.

Stagger Planting for Extended Bloom

Plant in multiple exposures (south/east for early bloom; west/north for later). As one group fades, the next peaks—extending the season significantly.

Phlox Paniculata: Fall's Showstopper

Hardy perennial phlox commands attention now. Explore varieties and colors. Can be transplanted in bloom with a solid root ball—minimal setback.

Simple actions now = weeks of extra color.