Trimming faded flowers from plants.
Posted by RS Landscape
Off with Its Head!
Summer in Kansas City is hot, dry, and long. As it gets hotter one of the things to remember is to trim the faded flowers from the plants (deadheading). It’s vital to trim off the fading and dead flowers off the bushes, such as your rose bushes, because this prevents your plants from putting energy into producing new seeds. The end of the summer is great IF you are planning to collect seeds and start new plants for next year. Most people, however, aren’t looking to grow their own plants, but we will all enjoy the new growth and flowers that will grow if the bushes are deadheaded. It may surprise you, but roses that are vigorously trimmed will still bloom again before the end of the season.
Depending on the variety of roses you cultivate you might even see blooms throughout the fall as a result of August trimmings. If you’re trimming back rose bushes, how much should you trim? Good question. Ideally, you want to prune roses back to 1 or 2 leaves below the base of the flowered shoots, to a healthy, bud that is facing outward. The pruning may seem severe. However, don’t be afraid to go ahead and trim it down. The more you prune now, the more vigorously the new shoot will grow.
If you’re not comfortable trimming bushes and setting up your roses for future growth (or afraid you’ll prune too much and kill them!) the landscape professionals at R & S Lawn Service would be happy to set up an appointment to take care of all your summer trimming needs.