Are you struggling to keep your plants alive? Can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong? The solution may be as simple as trying a new technique, like deadheading. Properly deadheading your plants and flowers could help your garden flourish. Check out the rest of this blog to see how deadheading can work for you and your garden.

The Basics of Deadheading

Deadheading is the simple technique of removing dead flowers from plants, which is essentially a form of pruning. This allows the plant to continue to grow and bloom healthy flowers. If you leave dead flowers on a healthy living plant, the blooming process will slow down and may even stop completely.

Why Should you Deadhead Flowers?

Deadheading flowers when blooms die is an important step in maintaining healthy plants since flowers tend to fade throughout the season and lose their overall appearance. Once petals have fallen and seed heads are exposed, energy is redirected towards the seeds, but deadheading is used to ensure that energy stays within to promote healthier plants. When flowers are maintained and cared for, their performance is enhanced, which results in more bloom cycles.

How to Properly Deadhead Flowers

Fortunately, deadheading your garden can be a simple and easy process if you follow some of these steps.

1. Pruning is the removal of dead buds to help promote healthy growth.
2. Pinching is when you pinch off the dead part of the plant in between your fingers. This should only be done when the flower stalks are thin and soft.
3. Shearing is when you cut back the entire plant by about one-third, which allows the plant to recover quickly. This should be done only when dead flowers are abundant.

Benefits of Deadheading

Deadheading has many different benefits, but overall, it will leave your garden looking fresh and healthy.

• Appearance: Deadheading cleans flowers up and improves the appearance of the plant by no longer having brown, dying flowers.
• Flower Buds: If the plants are regularly deadheaded, more flowers will set, which increases the blooming season.
• Formation of Seeds: Some plants will outgrow their space by self-sowing, and deadheading will stop seeds from forming in the first place. This ensures that the plant doesn’t overgrow and stays at a healthy size.

Need help building and maintaining a healthy garden? Get a quote from us about any landscaping project! Dolan Landscaping can give you the best quality service backed with excellent tips to maintain your new landscape. If you want more advice and tips, check out our full blog. Contact us today to get started.