If you remove the dead flowers, it will prevent those spent flowers from developing seeds. This helps the plant to focus its energy on producing more flowers (instead of seeds). When deadheading, make the cut about 1/4 inch below the base of the flower (along the stem), or you can pinch it back to just above the nearest leaf junction. Do not remove just the petals — the entire flower structure, including the base connected to the stem (usually a little swollen area, with several tiny straplike “leaves” surrounding it, called the calyx) needs to be removed.
If you remove the dead flowers, it will prevent those spent flowers from developing seeds. This helps the plant to focus its energy on producing more flowers (instead of seeds). When deadheading, make the cut about 1/4 inch below the base of the flower (along the stem), or you can pinch it back to just above the nearest leaf junction. Do not remove just the petals — the entire flower structure, including the base connected to the stem (usually a little swollen area, with several tiny straplike “leaves” surrounding it, called the calyx) needs to be removed.