When it comes to gardening in the summer, deadheading is one of the most important tasks you can do, as it will ensure you have beautiful blooms for years to come.
“This redirects the plant's energy from making seeds back into growing more flowers, keeps your pots and garden beds looking tidy, and will prevent the plants from self-seeding all over, which leads to overcrowding,” explains Victoria Cummins, gardening expert at PlantWhisperer.
If you’re tackling a month-by-month gardening calendar and want to add deadheading to your list, these are the blooms that are worth tackling.
1. Petunias
I have petunias in my backyard which are blooming beautifully, so while I’m a little sad about this one, I know it’s for the greater good.
“Petunias will continue to bloom into fall if deadheaded,” explains Steve Schumacher, landscaping expert and founder of Boston Landscape Co.
Simply pinch off spent blooms to ensure the plant's energy can be redirected to new flower production instead of seed development.
2. Marigolds
While bright and beautiful colors of marigolds might be adding cheerfulness to your backyard right now, the spent ones definitely aren't.
Victoria explains, “Pinching off the dead blooms of these will signal the plant to produce more flowers rather than going to seed.”
These are also beautiful annuals that work well in designs such as in cottage garden ideas.
3. Geraniums
Geraniums are a staple of summer garden border ideas, so it’s a smart idea to deadhead them to ensure they carry on flourishing.
“They can also benefit from deadheading and may produce a second flush of blooms in late summer,” Steve explains.
He says to make sure they last by fertilizing them after deadheading, in order to provide nutrients for new growth. For example, the Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food is an Amazon bestseller and is water soluble. This is a trick you can also apply to other flowers after deadheading them.
4. Black-eyed Susans
As well as ensuring your sure annuals thrive by deadheading them in August, make sure to snip the flowerheads off perennials, too.
“Plants like black-eyed Susans will often rebloom if you clean up the old flowers,” says Victoria.
If you are planting in August, coneflowers and asters will also fit in beautifully with these yellow flowers.
5. Roses
Roses are seriously eye-catching backyard beauties, flowering from early spring to late fall, producing new blooms every six weeks.
“This plant really thrives with regular deadheading, which will prolong their flowering season,” Victoria says.
Want to allow your gorgeous roses to thrive even more? You can always grab specialist plant food for them, such as the BioAdvanced All-In-One Rose and Flower Care Granules from Amazon that are the site’s choice, kill insects, and control plant diseases.
As well as deadheading your flowers, Steve says to ensure to continue watering your plants regularly, especially in hot and dry weather.
“With proper care, deadheading in August can lead to a bounty of new blossoms and an extended bloom season,” he finishes by saying.
Want to carry on caring for your plants this month? Learning the plants to prune in August will also come in useful.
Shop gardening essentials
Size: 0.31 lbs
Made from: Stainless steel
Price: $10.95
If you're pruning or deadheading smaller flowers, these are a great choice. The non-slip TPR handle will make sure your hands are comfortable, the high-tension coil will ensure precision while trimming, and the stainless steel blades will last for deadheading in months to come.
Capacity: 1 gallon
Made from: Metal
Price: $24.99
Brighten up your backyard with this beautiful watering can that's stylish and useful. I love the playful color, which will make it easy for you to grab in order to keep on top of your summer watering. If you want to save dollars and fill it up sustainably, you could always add rain chain ideas to your outdoor space and then top it up with the water from this.
Size: 3.8kg
Made from: Natural materials
Price: $23.74
Once you've deadheaded your flowers, it's important to give them a boost by feeding them with powerful plant food, such as this all-rounder from Miracle-Gro. This is specifically formulated for flowering plants and shrubs, making it ideal for sprinkling on post-head removal. You can also use this both in the ground or in containers.
