Clippings No.8 Deadheading: Keep the Colour Coming All Summer
Snip, snip! Deadheading isn’t as grim as it sounds. It’s a surprisingly satisfying habit that keeps your garden blooming, tidy, and full of floof.
🌸 Snip to Bloom: The Art of Deadheading for More Flowers
You’ve planted up your borders. You’ve filled your pots. You’ve chosen the longest-blooming plants you can find. Everything is looking glorious, and frankly, you deserve a moment to sit back with a cup of tea (or something cold and clinking) and admire your handiwork.
Do take time to waste a moment or two. Gardening is about enjoyment, after all, not just jobs. That said, don’t put those snips away just yet.
If you want to keep the colour coming all summer long, you’re still needed out there. And it all starts with one simple practice: deadheading.
Don’t Dread the Deadhead
I know. Taking a blade to a living plant can feel dramatic. Even a little barbaric. But think of it less like surgery and more like giving your plants a haircut before a hot date. A little trim, and suddenly they’re blooming with confidence.
Rest assured, you can’t kill a healthy plant just by snipping off its flowers. And once you start? It’s remarkably satisfying. Like popping bubble wrap, but with petals.
You can pinch them off with finger and thumb (some hardcore gardeners grow a particularly long thumbnail just for the job), or use snips or secateurs if you want a cleaner cut. There are a few plant-specific quirks (which we’ll get to), but as a general rule, always cut back to something. A pair of leaves, a side bud, a leaf node, or a branching point.
The Royal Horticultural Society has an excellent guide here if you want to nerd out on the finer details.
By the way, I really love Gardena’s GripCut Snips for deadheading. They grip the flowerhead as they cut (clue’s in the name), which is handy if you like to keep things tidy. Or you can simply chop and drop, letting nature absorb the organic matter back into the soil.
Why Deadhead?
In botanical terms, deadheading removes the plant’s reproductive organs, the faded flower heads that, left alone, will develop into seed. Once seeds form, the plant thinks, “Job done!” and begins to slow down and close up shop... perhaps a little prematurely.
Snip off those spent flowers, and the plant has to reconsider, “Wait a minute, I haven’t finished!” It quickly pumps out more blooms in response. You’re essentially tricking it into keeping the show going. Like a performer basking in applause, just keep clapping and they’ll keep coming back for an encore.
🌸 The benefits?
More flowers, for longer
Tidier, fresher-looking plants
Less energy wasted on seed production
Reduced self-seeding chaos
Lower chance of rot or fungal problems in damp weather
Self-Seeding: The Double-Edged Sword
Now, I love a generous plant as much as anyone, but some of them are just a bit too generous. In my own garden, Eupatorium, Valerian, Althaea, Bistort, and Scabiosa are prolific seeders. If I didn’t deadhead them promptly, I’d be battling a thicket of seedlings come spring.
That said, as summer drifts into autumn, I do change tack. I’ll happily let some plants go to seed. They’re food for the birds and shelter for the bugs. It’s a balancing act. Deadhead during peak season, let go as winter approaches.
I’ll dive into how I harness the power of self-seeders in a future post. A garden with no self-seeders can feel a little too neat, too orderly. Somehow, self-sowers add a sense of romance and heritage.
A Few Tips to Keep You Snipping Happily
✂️ Deadhead often
It’s much easier to stay on top of things if you do a little and often. Ideally, just a few minutes each morning or evening is enough. But let’s be honest, who really has time for that? A couple of times a week works well. Weekly, at the very least.
🔪 Cut cleanly
Use sharp clean snips or secateurs for anything with a woody stem. Don’t just tug. For softer green stems, though, a gentle snap or pinch is usually all you need.
🌧️ Avoid soggy petals
Old flowers can rot in damp weather and (potentially) spread fungal spores. Removing them early helps keep your plants healthier. Think of balling rose blooms, those damp, clumped flowers that never quite open, but just rot.
🐦⬛ Mind the birds
Some plants, like echinops, sunflowers and echinacea, produce seedheads that birds love. If you’re not chasing repeat blooms, feel free to leave a few behind for the wildlife.
📆 Know your plants
Not all flowers respond to deadheading. Some bloom once and that’s it, like most foxgloves. Others such as modern shrub roses, scabious, echinacea, dahlias, cosmos and clematis will keep flowering if you keep snipping. I’ll share a quick guide on what to deadhead and what to leave in a moment.
Flower Power Needs Fuel
Deadheading is only part of the picture. If your plants are flagging, there are usually two other culprits to watch for: water and nutrients.
🚿 Water deeply and regularly
This is especially important for containers. Plants under drought stress will often drop their flowers early or skip blooming altogether. For more on how to water wisely, see The Slow Art of Watering post linked below.
🌱 Feed wisely
For flowering plants, use a high-potash feed to encourage blooms over leafy growth. I prefer a natural seaweed extract. You can use something like Tomorite® if that’s to hand, but I avoid synthetic, high-nitrogen feeds. They produce soft, leafy growth that’s irresistible to aphids. It’s like laying out a buffet for the greenfly, then being surprised when they bring all their mates.
Clippings No.3 The Slow Art of Watering
Good watering isn’t about frantic sprinkling — it’s about paying attention. Listening to the plants, noticing the soil, checking your pace, and observing.
When Deadheading Doesn’t Work (and When Not to Bother)
Before you head out with your snips like some sort of floral vigilante, it’s worth knowing: not all plants respond to deadheading in the same way. Some simply don’t rebloom. Others are best left to their own devices.
🌼 One-and-Done Bloomers
Some plants are naturally programmed to flower once per season. Deadheading won’t hurt them, but it won’t bring back the party.
Foxgloves (Digitalis) – Stunning biennials that usually flower once and then set seed. Occasionally, side shoots will follow, but not reliably. Once that main flower stem has finished, the plant usually dies off.
Lupins (Lupinus) – You might get a second flush from side shoots if you’re quick, but don’t count on it. Each new flowerhead tends to be smaller than the last. I’ve found that trying to force a second wave can stress younger plants and invites those plump grey lupin aphids, in their thousands.
Peonies – A deadhead here is purely for aesthetics as old blooms quickly brown. Although the blooms are fleeting, they are glorious. Like a celebrity cameo in a soap opera… there for a good time, not a long time. Savour them, feed them in July, then look forward to a bumper blooming next year.
Roses – Many old garden roses, alba, gallica, damask shrubs and almost all ramblers, flower just once in early summer. If you deadhead them, you’ll miss out on their second act… those glorious, fruity hips in autumn.
Poppies (Papaver) – Especially the oriental and annual types, like the opium or field poppy. Once they flower, they’re finished. The seedheads are attractive, though you might want to snip them off unless you’re after poppies by the hundred.
❄️ Worth Leaving for Wildlife or Winter Beauty
Sometimes, it’s better not to deadhead, whether the seedhead is beautiful in its own right (Nigella, for example) or especially beneficial for wildlife.
Seedheads like echinacea, rudbeckia, teasel and alliums provide vital food for birds in winter.
Grasses such as Stipa, Miscanthus and Calamagrostis add stunning structure as they catch the light and frost.
Other stars: Sedum (Hylotelephium), Phlomis, Echinops, Nigella and Libertia all hold their own well into the colder months.
🌿 When in doubt?
Let the plant tell you. Observe whether it sets new buds below spent flowers or goes straight to seed. And remember, gardening isn’t about doing everything perfectly. You’re not expected to know it all or get everything right. It’s about paying attention, learning the quirks, and enjoying the process.
Final Thought: Make It a Ritual
Deadheading isn’t just a chore, it’s a check-in. A chance to connect with your garden, to notice what’s thriving, what’s struggling, what’s new. Spot those weeds hiding in plain sight. Some of my best ideas have come from an early morning wander, or evening stroll, snips in one hand and a cuppa in the other.
So don’t dread the deadhead. Embrace it. Your flowers (and your compost heap) will thank you.
💬 Over to You!
Do you have a favourite plant that rewards a good deadheading? Or one that surprises you with self-seeded babies? Let me know in the comments. I love hearing how other gardens behave!
BONUS SECTION
Plants to deadhead for more blooms:
🌸 Annuals & Bedding Plants
These are flowering machines. Deadheading keeps them going right through to the first frosts.
Cosmos
Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus)
Zinnias
Marigolds (Tagetes and Calendula)
Petunias (especially older varieties)
Geraniums (Pelargoniums)
Antirrhinums (Snapdragons)
Verbena
Nicotiana
Salvia splendens
🌼 Perennials
These perennials will often give a second (or even third) flush if deadheaded regularly:
Delphiniums – may flower again if cut back to the ground after the first flush
Campanula (Bellflower)
Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill) – many varieties benefit from a chop back after flowering
Penstemon
Geums - Remove entire flower stem
Knautia
Echinacea (Coneflower) – if not left for wildlife
Rudbeckia – again, if not left for seedheads
Dianthus (Pinks)
Scabiosa (Pincushion flower)
Dahlias – absolutely love a regular snip
🌹 Shrubs & Climbers
Repeat-flowering shrub roses – especially repeat-flowering English shrub roses, floribundas and hybrid teas
Clematis (especially Group 3 types like viticella)
Buddleja (Butterfly bush) – deadhead to encourage more flowers and prevent self-seeding
Another very helpful read! Thanks!
Thank you Elliott. I do try and deadhead at least once a week, but not always, there is always so much to do!