extending blooming time

Can you extend blooming time by cutting off the tops during bloom? We are planning a garden party Labor Day weekend, but fear the susans will no longer be blooming. Thanks in advance for your help.

Doug says that some annual varieties can indeed be encouraged to set more bloom by deadheading. But the main perennial varieties set a single flush of blooms and then they're done. Because they bloom so late in the season, getting a second set is extremely difficult - particularly if you're looking for a fast turnaround (asked mid-August for an end-August rebloom).

You could try to deadhead the spent blooms (this will make the plant look better in any case) but do not expact further blooms in your timeframe. And if you live in a cold climate (you don't say where you're gardening) then you won't get a secondary bloom - you "might" extend blooming time if you have a very late fall in a warmer climate.