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It is currently the blooming season for roses meaning many gardens are looking beautiful and colourful, but there is a simple way to get these flowers to last longer.
Lauresa, a gardener and co-founder of the Backyard Garden Club, has shared that deadheading roses in summer increase the chance of them having another flowering cycle.
She said: “Deadheading not only encourages new growth, but it also keeps your rose bush much neater looking. It’s super quick and easy and can be an easy happiness boost!”
It is incredibly easy to deadhead roses as it only takes less than five minutes, and can be even quicker if the task is done at least once a week.
Lauresa added: “I use pruning shears, but you can also use a pair of sharp scissors or garden hand clippers. Do wear gloves – rose thorns are no joke!”
You also can simply pull off old flower heads as you walk about your garden but it is often best to use a clean pair of scissors or shears to help prevent disease.
How to deadhead roses in June
All you need to do is look for roses with wilted and faded metals or the flowerhead might have completely lost all their petals.
Identify these roses as they are ones that need to be deadheaded, then look for the first set of five healthy leaves below the spent flowers as this is where new growth will emerge.
Lauresa said: “To deadhead, instead of cutting each individual flower, look a little further down for the first set of five leaves.
“Cut right above that using a right angle and clean sharp scissors or shears.
“Sometimes that means cutting off a healthy flower, another reason to wait for a lot of dead flowers. Keep up the good work, and less than five minutes later that rose bush will already look much better.”
Once you have deadheaded the blooms, make sure to clean up and properly dispose of any petals as they can attract pests.
It is also recommended to take a little more time to generally maintain the roses to keep them healthy, which means checking for signs of disease, pests and cleaning up weeds.
Lauresa said: “Take an extra five minutes to weed a bit and clear away the dead heads for an added face-lift.”
It tends to be best to deadhead roses early in the morning or late in the evening when the temperature is much cooler and there is less chance of the plant being stressed.
Make sure roses are also being watered deeply at least once a week, getting at least six hours of sun a day and being fed the right fertiliser, as this will also prolong their flowering time to keep your garden looking incredible this summer.
