Fall Deadheading

As summer draws to a close and those rich fall colors start peeking through the once vibrant greens, it's the perfect time to give your garden a little extra attention. For young homeowners and casual gardeners alike, fall gardening can be both easy and rewarding. One of the best ways to keep your garden looking fresh and lively is by deadheading.

What is deadheading, you ask? I turned to our garden expert, Daisy Digs, to explain. She says, "Deadheading is the process of removing spent flowers from plants. This simple act encourages the plant to focus its energy on producing more blooms and staying healthy, rather than on seed production. Plus, it can help prevent plants from self-seeding where you might not want them spreading."

Here's how to easily deadhead your plants:

  1. Identify Spent Flowers: Look for flowers that are wilting, fading, or have already lost their petals.
  2. Use the Right Tools: Grab a pair of clean, sharp scissors or pruning shears.
  3. Cut Back: Trim the spent flower stem back to the first set of healthy leaves. If you're unsure, just remove the dead flower head.
  4. Tidy Up: Dispose of the dead flowers to keep your garden neat and reduce the chance of disease.

Regular deadheading can lead to a tidier garden and extended blooming periods, helping your garden transition beautifully into fall. 

But wait, there's more! If you're curious about the broader benefits of deadheading or need a few expert tips, here’s a quick rundown:

  1. Why Should We Deadhead in the Fall?
  2. Expert Tips
  3. Plants That Benefit from Deadheading
  4. When Not to Deadhead

Let’s dig in…

    1. Why should we deadhead in the fall?

Deadheading in the fall is beneficial for several reasons:

  • Encourages More Blooms: For some perennials and shrubs that have a longer blooming season, deadheading can stimulate another flush of flowers.
  • Prevents Self-Seeding: Deadheading can prevent plants from self-seeding all over your garden, which might lead to unwanted spread and could create more work for you in the spring.
  • Energy Conservation: By removing spent blooms, you redirect the plant's energy from seed production to root and foliage growth, which can help it to store more energy for the next growing season.
  • Disease Prevention: Removing dead flowers can also help prevent the spread of diseases, as some pathogens thrive on decaying plant material.
  • Aesthetic Purposes: It keeps your garden looking tidy throughout the fall and into the winter, as dead and decaying flowers can be unsightly.

Remember, while deadheading is beneficial, it's also important to leave some seed heads on certain plants to provide food for birds and wildlife during the winter months. Bloomin' Easy plants are selected for their easy-care nature, and deadheading may be part of their care routine to ensure they thrive and beautify your space year after year.


    2. Expert Tips:

  • Timing: Deadhead as soon as flowers start to fade. Late August into September is a great time to get started.
  • Frequency: Regularly check your garden for spent flowers, especially during peak blooming seasons, and deadhead as needed.
  • Pruning: Most of our Bloomin’ Easy plants only require deadheading. The work you put in now will help shape your garden later, killing two birds with one stone. 

    3. Plants That Benefit from Deadheading:

  • Annuals: Marigolds, petunias, zinnias, and cosmos thrive with regular deadheading.

  • Perennials: Daisies, coneflowers, and daylilies are healthier and conserve more energy when deadheaded in the fall. 

  • Shrubs: Some flowering shrubs, like hydrangeas and roses, also benefit from deadheading.

    4. When Not to Deadhead:

  • Self-Cleaning Plants: Some plants, like impatiens and many varieties of petunias, naturally drop their spent flowers. And if you’ve got roses from the Bloomin’ Easy collection in your backyard, no need to worry—they’re self-cleaning! The roses leave behind their rosehips after the petals drop, providing some fall interest.

  • Seed Collecting: If you want to save seeds for future planting, let some flowers- like echinaceas, poppies, and foxgloves- go to seed rather than deadheading them all.


As the summer season winds down, you can ease off on deadheading, allowing your plants to focus on storing energy for the winter or letting seed heads develop for wildlife. Deadheading is a simple, effective way to keep your garden vibrant and full of life throughout the growing season, and it seamlessly transitions your garden into the cozy color-changes of fall foliage. 


Here are some Bloomin’ Easy Plants that transition seamlessly from Summer to Fall: 

See our full Fall Interest Collection! 


Happy fall gardening!

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