Gardening: Expert demonstrates how to deadhead flowers
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The time for deadheading plants is usually after the flowers or branches have reached full blossom and are beginning to decline into spent petals or buds. You should be doing this at least once a year to maintain the vibrancy of the plant, but what should you be deadheading right now?
It’s always a good idea to lightly deadhead your plants throughout the seasons to promote constant growth and as we creep further into August, these plants are ready for some TLC ahead of the autumn.
Types of plants to deadhead NOW
Shrubs
Shrubs are arguably the most important type of plant to deadhead in order to sustain healthy and compact growth.
Focus on your rhododendrons and azaleas as well as your camellias, lilacs and tree peonies this month to keep those evergreen leaves… evergreen.
Very few tools are needed to deadhead these plants so just grab a pair of secateurs or use your hands to snap off the deadhead where it meets the stem.
Be careful not to catch the buds or younger growth when working around the flower.
Bedding plants
If you’re looking for a reason to get out into the garden and enjoy the short bursts of sunshine, look no further than deadheading your bedding plants!
It’s prime time to pick spent blooms on your bedded plants, container grown and hanging baskets.
No tools are required other than your finger and thumb for this quick-deadheading-fix to get your flowers re-blooming again when the time is right.
Focus on:
- Pansies
- Cherry pie
- Polyanthus
- Petunias
Simply remove their faded blooms with a light pinch and dispose of them in your compost.
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Climbers
Deadheading your climbers is important to keep it growing strong branches and to maintain their elegant structure.
Bulbs
If you planted daffodils last summer for the Easter festivities, pay them some attention by removing flowers and seed capsules from their large bulbs.
Don’t touch the green flower stalk as this plays a vital part in this delicate yellow plants’ growth and will build up the bulb ahead of next Spring.
Never let your onion/allium plant flower – deadhead regularly to prevent the onion bulb from splitting during growth.
Geraniums
To guarantee these cosmic-coloured petals in your garden next summer, be sure to get rid of the less lively-looking flowers on your plant.
For geraniums, the Royal Horticultural Society recommends deadheading from the bottom by holding the faded flower stalk near the base and pulling downwards to cleanly snap the old bloom.
If you’re growing a hardy variety of geraniums cut back close to ground level after flowering and they might just produce a second flush of flowers.
Roses
Pay attention to your roses right now by shedding their faded flowers for a good-deadheading treatment.
Rather than picking off the petals, break off the stalk just below the head of the rose rather than cutting just above a leaf.
By using this snapping method, your roses are likely to re-bloom more quickly.
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