The Gardener's Guide to Removing Wilted Flowers

Aug 12, 2024

Le Guide du Jardinier pour Éliminer les Fleurs Fanées

Most gardeners have heard the term "cleaning up dead flowers" when it comes to plants.
But what does it mean and why is it important?

WHAT IS CLEANING WITHWILD FLOWERS? 🌸

Cleaning up spent flowers involves removing flowers that have finished blooming. In addition to improving the overall appearance of plants, this technique allows plants to focus their energy on producing new flowers.
This is also the best way to control plants that reseed themselves. If the plants are not cleaned, they produce seeds. For annuals and perennials, seed production signals that the life cycle is complete, causing the plants to stop flowering or die.

HOW TO CLEAN FADING FLOWERS? ✂️

There are different methods for cleaning up spent flowers, with specific techniques for annuals and perennials. Here are the most common methods:

Pinching: For plants with soft, fleshy stems like petunias, coleus, basil, marigolds and pansies, pinch the stem with base of the flower with your thumb and index finger. Pinching encourages plants to grow bushier, resulting in more leaves and flowers.

Cutting: For plants with stiff or woody stems such as monarda, echinacea, sage, roses and hydrangeas, use pruning shears, shears or sharp scissors to cut off faded flowers.

Pruning: Some plants, such as alyssum, coreopsis, perennial geranium and catmint, respond better to pruning the entire plant. Wait until the majority of flowers have bloomed, then cut the plant back to one-third to one-half its size. Perennial geraniums and catnip can be pruned almost to ground level.

Whichever method you use, be sure to remove the entire flower, not just the petals, as the seeds are in the center.

WHERE TO CLEAN FADING FLOWERS?

The structure of the plant will determine where to remove spent flowers.

Single stems 🌱

For plants that produce flowers on single stems, such as dahlias, scabious and zinnias, remove the flower by cutting the stem at the base, as close as possible to where it joins the leaves.

Multiple stems 🌿

For multi-stemmed flowers, such as ageratum, cosmos, daisies and sunflowers, cut off spent flowers individually. Be careful not to cut or damage adjacent flower buds. You can also wait until all the flowers on a stem have finished blooming to cut them off at once.

Little flowers 🌸

For plants with clusters of small flowers, such as fragrant alyssum and iberis, lightly prune the entire plant to encourage new blooms.

TYPES OF PLANTS TO CLEAN

Annuals 🌼

Annuals benefit from regular cleaning of spent flowers to prolong blooms, which can extend the blooming season into fall. Pinch or cut off spent flowers, taking care not to remove adjacent buds.
For small-flowered annuals, such as fragrant alyssum, wait until most of the flowers have faded before pruning. Fertilize regularly to encourage new blooms.
Annuals like Calibrachoa and some types of petunias are self-cleaning and therefore do not need cleaning.

Perennials 🌿

Perennials that will rebloom after spent flowers are cleaned include astrance, rudbeckia (or "black-eyed Susan"), coneflower, lupine, penstemon, phlox, sage, Shasta daisy and speedwell.

Shrubs 🌳

Shrubs that will produce more flowers after cleaning include buddleia (or "butterfly bush"), hydrangea, rose bush and spirea.

Single flowering plants 🌷

Plants that bloom only once per season, such as iris, lilac, lily, peony and tulip, will not produce new flowers after spent flowers are cleaned.
However, removing spent flowers will allow the plant or bulb to focus more energy, resulting in more vigorous growth and better flowering the following year.
Faded flowers of single-blooming plants, such as astilbe and ornamental grasses, can be left in place to take advantage of the decorative seed heads.

HOW TO CLEAN THESE COMMON PLANTS?

Here are tips for cleaning up spent flowers from these commonly grown plants:

Echinacea 🌸

Regular cleaning of echinacea (Echinacea) prolongs the flowering period. When you clean, cut just above the first set of leaves. In late summer or early fall, stop cleaning up spent flowers and leave the seed heads to feed songbirds and other wildlife.

Dahlia 🌺

Dahlias can bloom until the first frost with regular cleaning. Remove spent flower heads just above the first intersecting branch, being careful not to remove side buds. New flower buds are rounded, while faded flowers have a triangular or conical shape.

Marguerite Shasta 🌼

Shasta daisies will continue to produce more flowers if they are cleaned regularly. Cut spent flowers back to the second set of leaves, or for a cleaner look, cut the flower stem down to the ground.

Œillet (Dianthus) 🌹

Remove spent flowers as soon as they begin to wilt, pruning back to the first set of leaves.

Geranium 🌿

Annual geraniums (Pelargonium) are among the most popular flowerbed plants. To improve flowering, break the flower stem at the base with your thumb and index finger. Any part of the stem left on the plant will continue to grow, taking energy from the plant and producing new buds.

Hydrangea 🌸

Cut the stem of each faded flower just above the first set of leaves. Flowers produced late in the growing season can be left for winter interest.

For tree and panicle hydrangeas that flower on new year's wood, the best time to remove old flowers is in early spring, before new growth appears. Bigleaf, mountain and oakleaf hydrangeas, which bloom on last year's wood, can be cleaned as the flowers fade. Be careful not to remove the buds that begin to form from late summer onwards for the following year's flowers. Everbearing varieties can be pruned in early spring before new growth emerges and again in summer, but no later than mid-August when new buds are forming for the next year's flowers.

Lavender 🌿

The flowers and leaves of this popular herb are harvested for a wide variety of uses. Most lavender varieties produce two or more blooms per season. Cut off fresh or wilted flowers at the base of the stems.

Peony 🌸

Cutting off spent flowers won't cause the peony to bloom again this season, but it helps redirect energy back into the plant for more vigorous growth. Prune back old flowers just above the first set of leaves.

Petunia 🌺

Pinch the spent flowers between your thumb and index finger. If plants become etiolated, cut them back to half their size by mid-summer to stimulate new growth and flowers. Some varieties are self-cleaning and do not need cleaning.

Rosier 🌹

Rose bushes can be single, repeat or continuous flowering. Know what type you have before pruning or cleaning. To remove spent flowers, cut the stem down to the first set of 5 leaves at a 45-degree angle from the bud eye. Leave the flowers faded if you want the plants to develop rose hips for winter interest or culinary use.

WHEN NOT TO CLEAN WITHWILD FLOWERS?

The spent flowers of some plants can be left to produce ornamental seed heads, fruits or rose hips that provide food for birds and other wildlife in winter. Among these plants, we find:

Monarde (Monarda)
Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
Echinacea (Echinacea)
Liatris
Blue thistle (Echinops)
Orpin (Sedum)
Spiked speedwell (Veronicastrum)
Rose bushes
Clematis
Nigella damascena (Damask nigella)
Other Plants That Produce Berries or Fruit in Fall

Self-cleaning flowering plants, such as angelica (Angelonia), impatiens, calibrachoa, periwinkle (Vinca), and some varieties of petunias, do not need cleaning.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1- When should you clean wilted flowers? 🌸

Cut off spent flowers when the petals begin to fall, and continue to remove them as they appear. Stop cleaning when the weather becomes cooler if you want the plants to form seeds to harvest or sow naturally. Some plants, like hydrangeas and rose bushes, have more specific needs when it comes to cleaning up spent flowers.

2- Does cleaning spent flowers produce more flowers? 🌼

By removing spent flowers, the plant's energy is diverted from producing seeds, which encourages the plant to produce more flowers.

3- What is the difference between cleaning faded flowers and pruning? ✂️

Dead flower cleaning involves removing spent flowers. Pruning involves removing any part of the plant for the purpose of thinning, shaping, resizing, reinvigorating or removing dead or diseased parts.

4- Should we clean all the wilted flowers? 🌺

Most annual flowers benefit from regular cleaning. Some perennials and shrubs can be encouraged to bloom again by cleaning up spent flowers. Other plants only bloom once per season and will not produce new flowers even if cleaned.

ADDITIONAL TIPS

Keep your pruning tools clean and disinfected 🛠️: This helps prevent the spread of diseases between plants.
Simplify the task by taking steps 🕒: Instead of trying to do everything at once, take a few minutes here and there to clean up the dead flowers. Some gardeners find this process relaxing. Take a leisurely stroll with a cup of coffee or tea and prune your plants while enjoying your garden.
Combine cleaning of faded flowers with a regular fertilization schedule 🌿: This will allow you to get the most out of your flowering annual plants. Fertilize other plants according to their specific needs to encourage more flowers.
Dispose of wilted flowers properly ♻️: Put them in the compost bin, trash can or garden recycling, rather than leaving them around plants, to prevent the spread of disease.