Gardeners urged to avoid a key mistake to help flowers grow

Introduction

UK gardeners heading into the peak of summer are being urged to rethink one routine flowerbed job, as experts warn that a common shortcut is leaving borders short of blooms. Gardening creator Michael Griffiths says many gardeners believe they are deadheading correctly, when in fact they are missing the step that drives repeat flowering. Getting the technique right now could shape how borders look from late June through August.

What This Means for UK Gardeners

Deadheading is the regular removal of faded flowers, and doing it well matters most on plants that flower in flushes — roses, hardy geraniums, dahlias, cosmos and bedding favourites such as petunias and pelargoniums. In a typical British summer, a border that is deadheaded properly every few days will throw out noticeably more colour than one left alone, because the plant keeps producing new buds instead of ripening seed. The Royal Horticultural Society recommends deadheading throughout the growing season as standard practice, and Squires Garden Centres notes that even three to five minutes of "little and often" work keeps roses looking fresh across many flowering seasons. With many UK gardens only really performing from late June onwards, this is the moment to reset the habit.

Key Points

• Just pinching off wilted petals is not enough — the whole flower head, where seeds form, must come off so the plant redirects energy into new buds rather than seed production.
• For single blooms, snip or snap the stalk at the base where it meets the main stem, leaving any healthy flowers on the same stem untouched.
• For clusters of flowers, trace the stem down to the next set of five leaves and cut just above that join; this is the point from which a strong new flowering shoot will grow.
• On hybrid tea roses, the RHS advises snapping the faded flower off just below the head by hand, which encourages quicker regrowth than cutting with secateurs.
• Regular deadheading also improves plant hygiene, as removing spent blooms lowers the risk of fungal infection taking hold in damp British summer weather.

Further Reading

For more on keeping roses at their best, see the GardenWizz rose care guide; for tender favourites that benefit from similar treatment, the dahlia and pelargonium growing guides cover deadheading and feeding through the summer months.

IMAGE_SCENE: a UK cottage garden border in mid-June with a gardener using secateurs to deadhead spent rose blooms above a healthy set of leaves

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/garden/2216970/how-to-encourage-flowers-to-grow-more-blooms