- Rooms
- Gardens
- Garden Planning Advice
- How To Deadhead Flowers & Plants
How To Deadhead Flowers & Plants
- Why Deadhead & What To Use
- How To Deadhead
Deadheading is the commonly used term for what is just the simple pruning process of removing the spent flowers or the 'dead heads' of plants. It is an essential garden job, and will help keep all plants and gardens looking neat and tidy. Here's how.
By Sacha Markin
Why Deadhead?
Deadheading will encourage more blooms, which is vital as flowering is how plants make their seeds. Essentially the purpose of a flower is to attract pollinators that will help the plant form seeds for reproduction.
Once a flower is pollinated, it fades and begins to wilt. And, when this happens, the plant goes into its 'stop flowering' mode, and it will start to use all its energy to create seeds instead. Deadheading the blooms as they start to fade and wilt stops this process from starting and so the plant is able to concentrate all of its energy into producing flowers once again.
Deadheading is also important for the general vitality of the plant - when plants try to make seeds, they will inevitably use a lot of nutrients or water, so by deadheading during dry hot weather, you are helping the plant retain these resources for flowering instead. Plus, of course, deadheading helps to keep flowering plants tidy and uncluttered. Flowers which are spent can be pretty unsightly and detract from an otherwise attractive garden, so deadheading can keep flower beds and borders fresh by leaving only the most vibrant flowers on plants. There are a whole host of plants, including geraniums and delphiniums, which will reward you with more and more flowers if regularly deadheaded.
What To Use To Deadhead
Whatever plants you have, the basic tools required for deadheading most plants are simply your hands, a decent pair of gardening gloves and a sharp clean pair of secateurs. By making sure the secateurs blades are sharp and that they have been thoroughly cleaned since their last use, you're not only making the job of deadheading easier, but also keeping your plants healthy. And wearing a pair of good-quality gardening gloves when deadheading is a must as this will prevent any issues with thorns, prickly stems or any sticky or caustic sap.
When To Deadhead
Whatever time of year it is, go around and deadhead flowers that are clearly past their prime. The longer you leave fading flowers, the longer the plant will waste energy on dying blooms instead of fresh growth and new buds. To keep up the appearance of your plants and a productive garden, deadheading should be part of your weekly garden maintenance, so check flower beds and borders, hanging baskets, patio pots and even window boxes regularly, and ensure that all fading blooms are swiftly removed.
In early spring, after the last frost and just before first flowering, pinch off several buds in each cluster to encourage larger blooms. In summer time, you can deadhead annuals - try and start a regular routine of inspecting and deadheading the annuals throughout the season. And, although perennials generally have a shorter bloom phase than annuals, you can still extend the flowering time for some perennials by deadheading. Throughout the autumn, keep on top of deadheading your autumn bloomers. Autumn flowering plants, such as chrysanthemums, should be deadheaded before the first winter frosts arrive.
When Not To Deadhead
Some plants, such as impatiens, naturally drop their flowers and don't need deadheading. And although deadheading may extend the bloom period for some plants, there are a few reasons not to remove the spent flowers. The dried flowers and seed heads of some species may provide added interest and structure to the garden in the summer, along with some contrast and structure in the winter months. Plus don't forget some seed heads can be a wonderful food source for visiting birds.
Lastly, if you want to have additional flowers from one of your favourite plants free of charge for the following growing season, towards the end of the summer don't cut off all of the dead flowers - leave some blooms to save the seeds from. So rather let the seeds form, mature and dry out on the plant then collect the seeds by crumbling the dried flower heads. Keep the seeds safe and dry in an envelope, label it clearly and then wait until the following spring to start germinating these seeds in trays. Why not try this with marigolds, zinnias or sunflowers?
Comments
- 1
- 2
Search all of 4Homes
Be inspired to create your perfect home...
Search 4Homes product finder
Garden Makeovers
