A garden full of beautiful blooming flowers is every gardeners’ dream, but how do you make the most of the various flowering plants that you are growing?
A common method for promoting continual flowering is that the flowers should be deadheaded. This can be a great way to encourage new growth however, it is not necessary for all plants.
Deadheading plants is simply the practice of cutting wilted flowers from the plant to promote new blossom growth.
The plant can then give more energy to produce new flowers and many plants do well when they are deadheaded. In our guide below, we share our top tips to deadhead plants.
Answering common questions including plants that dont need deadheading, Plants which need deadheading and so much more.
Which plants do not need to be deadheaded?
Some plants are what we call ‘self-cleaning’. This means that they drop their own blooms and continue to flower with no interference. The types of plants that are self-cleaning include begonias, some types of petunias, nemesia, sedum, vina and lantana.
Which plants must not be deadheaded?
Some flowers turn to attractive seedpods if they are not deadheaded, such as Baptisia Australis. Self-seeding plants like the Digitalis Mertonensis (FoxGlove) and forget-me-nots will fill spaces in borders and seedpods make great nutrition for birds if you want to encourage nature in the garden!
Plants that need deadheading
Peonies, roses and camellias will benefit from being deadheaded but also it will stop them from scattering their many petals all over the garden. Rhododendrons and azaleas are flowering shrubs that need to be deadheaded as will geraniums and some bedding plants like Argyranthemum and pansies. Climbing plants can be deadheaded where practical.
How do you deadhead a flowering plant?
The process of deadheading can normally be done with the pinching out a method where you can use your finger and thumb to gently detach the flower. Alternatively use secateurs to remove them but always be careful not to damage any new buds.
Deadheading your flowering plants is a relatively small effort which will help you to get the most out of the plants that you have lovingly grown. Don’t forget to collect and replant seeds where you can to get even more out of your flowers.
Hanging baskets, pots and borders look amazing at this time of year with a mix of colours and plant types. For those gardeners that are still not visting the shops, there is a wide range of seeds and plants available to buy online, and to keep you busy in the garden why not check out our latest post on gardening during lockdown.