How To Deadhead Roses For More Blooms

The beauty of roses belies their rugged nature. The right rose in the right spot is relatively carefree. One of the easiest parts of regular rose maintenance is deadheading aged flowers, taking care to leave enough for showy rosehips late in the season.

Deadheading is the removal of spent blooms. Cutting off old flowers channels the plant’s energy from seed (rosehip) production into creating more blooms. For roses that flower throughout the summer, this means more blooms, more quickly. For types that flower in a single flush once a season, deadheading improves the plant’s appearance and form. 

With the proper care, these long-lived garden specimens have multi-season appeal. These relatively low-maintenance growers benefit from simple deadheading practices for best health. Don’t forget to pick a few fresh blooms to enjoy in a vase.

Benefits of Deadheading

Deadheading is a common practice to promote recurrent flowering and tidy up the plant’s appearance as blooms fade. It’s one of the simplest ways to encourage a long-lasting bloom season while retaining plant form.

Clipping spent flowers is quick and easy. It helps rose bushes by:

How To Deadhead

There are two primary ways to deadhead roses. Both occur throughout the flowering season, ongoing or after a full flush of blooms. Deadhead when flowers begin to lose their color and fade. Petals will droop, drop, brown, and wither.

The first way to deadhead is to cut or pinch off a single flower as it fades. This technique applies to clustered flower heads or individual blooms on long stems. The purpose here is to improve the plant’s appearance. Cutting off the declining petals allows the remaining buds and blooms to shine while removing deteriorating matter.

To remove individual spent flowers from a cluster, cut them just below the base of the bud. Leave a bit of stem attached. This cut will be close to where the stem branches to other buds. For single-flowered stems, cut above a leaf node where five leaflets meet the main stem.

The second method of deadheading is removing the entire flower cluster after all the blooms fade. Taking the cluster improves the look of the shrub while promoting more flowers and new growth. 

To clip off the cluster, cut the stem at the node where the leaf meets the stem. Look for a node with five leaflets. You may encounter three leaflets first, but five indicate stronger, thicker stems. These cuts are the same procedure for deadheading singular long-stemmed rose types.

While at it, check for the oddly long shoots that spring up to flower. As their flower heads fade, cut stems down to size to meet the rest of the shrub. Again, prune down to a leaf node. This is light shaping rather than heavy pruning, which should wait until fall or early spring.

Rose Types

Climbers, with their vigorous growth habit, are generally self-sufficient and don’t require deadheading. You can cut spent blooms to promote repeat flowering, especially with larger-flowered specimens, but these carefree growers flower profusely without deadheading.

Ramblers are similar to climbers but often bloom in a single flush once a season. Leave spent flowers in place to usher in showy rosehips.

Shrub roses are robust growers with stately natural forms that require little gardener intervention. They’ll naturally “self-clean” by loosely dropping petals as flowers open and age.
As a benefit, plants are generally disease-resistant. 

Wild species roses and old garden species bloom vigorously without deadheading. Feel free to clip as you desire for appearance and quick reflowering, but don’t fret if you leave these beauties to their own devices. Avoid deadheading single-season flowering shrub varieties that produce rose hips for multi-season appeal.

Hybrid teas produce pointed blooms on long stems. Deadhead spent flowers at a five-leaflet junction point on the stem.

Floribundas produce abundant clusters of buds. Remove the individual stem or cluster as they fade. Aim for a rounded form for the best aesthetic as you lightly trim.

When to Clip Spent Blooms

Deadheading reblooming varieties will direct energy into producing more flowers. The quicker you deadhead, the faster plants reflower. For single-season bloomers, deadheading promotes a groomed appearance and light shaping for the best form. 

The caveat to deadheading is that removing spent blooms also eliminates the possibility of rosehips. Some varieties don’t bear showy hips, but others produce fruits in reds, oranges, yellows, and even purples. Rose hips last well into fall and even winter for added ornamental interest. Songbirds and foraging wildlife use rose hips as a food source.

If your rose blooms once a season with a single flush of flowers, clipping prevents plants from going to seed (i.e., producing hips). Let the blooms linger for the hips to set and develop later in the season.

Repeat bloomers benefit from deadheading in early and mid-summer. Removing spent flowers prevents plants from going to seed; instead, plants continue to flower. 

Stop deadheading in late summer so that hip-bearing roses have time to fruit for the cool season. Do this six to eight weeks before the anticipated frost date as bushes prepare for winter dormancy. Plants must conserve energy rather than produce new blooms and growth.

Proper Tools

To prune roses, wear suitable gloves and use sharp, clean bypass pruning shears. Instead of anvil pruners, bypass pruners use blades that pass through stems like scissors for precise cuts. Sharp tool blades ensure clean cuts and won’t shred stem tissues. Tears and rough cuts can cause weakness and susceptibility to pests and diseases.

Roses easily transmit common diseases. When moving between plants, it is best to use sterile tools. Sanitize pruners to kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses that may hop from plant to plant through tool contact. 

Wipe away any residues on the blade. Rubbing alcohol with 70% or higher concentration of isopropyl alcohol is an easy disinfectant. After sanitizing, allow tools to dry before using.

Making the Right Cut

To deadhead properly, simply clip stems at a 45-degree angle. Do this one-eighth to one-quarter-inch above a bud or leaf node (where leaflets meet the stem). Angle the cut downward in the direction opposite the node.

Cutting stems on an angle purportedly helps water run off surface cuts rather than collecting on the stem and bud, leading to potential diseases. Angled cuts are beneficial for any cut when pruning.

Scout for Pests and Diseases

While we’re clipping spent petals, it’s a good time for an overview of plant health. Diseased foliage is common and indicated by yellowing, spotting, or dropping. Easily pluck damaged leaves for disposal. 

Removing fallen leaves and petals from around plants is a good regular maintenance practice to reduce the spread of fungal spores. It minimizes damp conditions that harbor fungus at the soil level.

You may see pests like aphids, spider mites, and Japanese beetles. In the early morning, spray plants with a streaming hose to knock them off leaves and stems. In severe cases, insecticidal soaps or horticultural oils like neem can rid plants of infestation.

Also, remove any damaged, diseased, or dead canes at any time of the year. Removal benefits the plants by preventing the spread of common rose diseases like black spot and powdery mildew. 

Dispose of Clippings

A big part of regular maintenance is discarding rose debris. This reduces the spread of pesky pests and diseases between plants. When deadheading, carry a bucket and drop in the clippings as you go.

Since debris may carry diseases, it’s best to discard cuttings and leaves rather than add them to the compost pile. Spores increase and spread to other roses or garden plants through the compost. Bag up debris to throw away or burn it.

Frequently Asked Questions