My roses have bloomed out their first flush of roses and are starting to fade. They were gorgeous with multiple blooms on each shrub. But now it’s time to deadhead them. By doing this, you’ll promote a new flush of blooms to come on in another round.

You’ll know your roses are ready to deadhead when the petals are soft and falling off. The inside of the flower may be exposed. It just won’t look like the original bud that bloomed out.

Similar to giving them a hard prune in the spring, you’ll want to follow the stem of the rose down to the first set of five leaves. The first few sets of leaves will be sets of three. When you get to the first set of five, you’ll want to prune the cane directly above that at an angle that faces away from the shrub itself. Make sure you have a bucket or wheelbarrow near by to catch all of the debris. You’ll want to grab the bloom before cutting it off to try and capture as many petals as possible.

Some roses have groups of blooms on the same stem and some of those blooms may fade while others are just coming on. In those instances, you can clip the individual flower head in the pod and then when all of those blooms fade, you can prune it down to that first set of five leaves.

Deadheading roses will not only promote new blooms, but it will also promote the overall health of your plant. Your shrub will look tidier and will be all ready for new blooms!

Questions? Comment below!