A Gardener’s Guide to Deadheading Roses and Perennials

Deadheading is one of those gardening tasks that can feel tedious, especially if you have a lot of plants in bloom. But as Jason from Fraser Valley Rose Farm explains, it’s a simple yet impactful technique to tidy up your garden and encourage reblooming. Whether you’re learning how to deadhead roses, manage perennial blooms, or explore techniques like staging, understanding the process can make a big difference in your garden’s performance and appearance.

This guide covers the essentials of deadheading, including why it’s important, how to do it for different types of plants, and advanced techniques for prolonging bloom cycles.

What Is Deadheading and Why Do It?

Deadheading is the process of removing spent flowers from a plant. It serves two key purposes:

1. Tidying Up: Spent blooms can make a plant look untidy or neglected. Removing them improves the garden’s overall appearance.
2. Encouraging Reblooming: Many plants will pause flowering and direct their energy toward forming seeds after their blooms fade. By removing these flowers, you signal to the plant to focus on producing new blooms instead.

For roses, deadheading also prevents the formation of hips, which are seed pods that develop after flowering. Left unchecked, these seed pods can delay reblooming by diverting the plant’s energy into seed production.

Deadheading Roses: Techniques and Tips

Jason demonstrated two methods for deadheading roses: a quick approach for convenience and a more precise method using pruners.

1. The Simple Twist-Off Method

For a quick cleanup, you can simply twist off the spent flower heads by hand. This is fast and effective for tidying up, especially if you’re working with a large number of roses. While it’s not the most elegant approach, it works well for general maintenance and is easy for beginners learning how to deadhead roses.

2. The Proper Pruning Method

Using clean, sharp pruners offers more precision and ensures a healthy, clean cut for the plant. Jason shared a practical rule of thumb for deciding where to cut:

• Look for the nearest five-leaf leaflet (a section of the stem with a cluster of five leaves). This is where the plant transitions back to vegetative growth, making it the best point for new shoots to develop.
• Make a clean cut about half an inch above this node (the bump where new growth will emerge).

While traditional advice often emphasizes cutting at an angle or choosing outward-facing buds, Jason explained that these steps are optional. A straight cut works just as well in most cases, as the rose will naturally send up new growth.

Cluster-Flowering Roses

For roses that bloom in clusters, treat the entire flower head as a single unit. Follow the stem back to where the cluster joins the main stem, then prune just above a five-leaf leaflet or an emerging shoot. This removes all the spent blooms at once and redirects the plant’s energy toward producing new flowers.

Deadheading Perennials: Similar Principles, Different Approach

Deadheading isn’t just for roses. Perennials like salvia, astrantia, and anise hyssop can also benefit from regular pruning to keep them blooming longer. Jason highlighted two approaches to deadheading perennials:

1. Selective Removal: Trim off the spent flower spikes while leaving the side shoots intact. This allows the plant to keep flowering on the remaining stems.
2. Aggressive Pruning: For a more dramatic reset, cut the flower spikes back to the base or a few inches above the ground. This encourages the plant to rebloom more evenly and vigorously.

The Art of Staging

Staging is a technique where you cut back a portion of a plant before it’s finished blooming. Jason demonstrated this on an anise hyssop, explaining that he wanted to ensure fresh blooms for an upcoming garden event. By preemptively pruning half of the plant, he guaranteed staggered flowering over time.

This method is especially useful for plants with long bloom cycles, ensuring you don’t have all your flowers peak at once and then fade.

When Deadheading Doesn’t Apply

It’s important to note that deadheading is only effective on plants that rebloom. Roses that bloom once a season—such as old garden roses, species roses, and one-time blooming ramblers—won’t produce new flowers after deadheading. For these plants, deadheading is purely a cosmetic choice to keep the garden tidy.

Key Tools for Deadheading

Jason emphasized the importance of using clean, sharp tools to avoid spreading diseases. Here’s what he recommends:

• Pruners: Essential for precise cuts, especially for roses.
• Cleaning Solution: Use a disinfectant like a diluted bleach solution to ensure you’re not transferring bacteria or fungi between plants.

Regularly cleaning tools also prevents damage to the plant and ensures a smooth recovery.

Conclusion

Learning how to deadhead roses and perennials is an essential skill for maintaining a beautiful and productive garden. Whether you’re snipping away at cluster blooms, experimenting with staging techniques, or tidying up perennials, this process ensures your plants stay healthy and blooming throughout the season.

Jason’s demonstration also highlights the value of experimenting—every garden and plant is unique, so feel free to try different approaches to see what works best for you. If you have questions about deadheading or staging, Jason invites you to leave a comment on his YouTube channel or explore more tips on Fraser Valley Rose Farm’s website.