Are you looking forward to a pleasant afternoon in the garden with your trusty scissors and gardening gloves?

Deadheading is the removal of dead blooms and shoots from plants. This is important to do with roses, rather than waiting for blooms to fall off, as the dead parts of the plant still use energy that the rose bush can use anywhere. Don’t forget that when you cut the roses to put in a vase on your table, you are actually deadheading in advance, so it is actually best to cut your roses while they are in bloom. This way they can be enjoyed on your table or given as gifts. If you have planted roses that bloom repeatedly, deadheading will encourage your rose to bloom again.

A basic gardening tip: new stems will grow from the junction of the remaining leaves, or from the old stem. So it can be best to cut the stem at the junction of the leaves, as, if the stem is cut midway down the stalk, any new stem will grow out of it. The disadvantage to this is that the new stem will be limited in size to the circumference of the old stem and would not be able to grow any bigger or stronger than the old stem.

Another tip is to avoid cutting too many leaves off. When deadheading, a few leaves are going to come off with the stems, but remember that the leaves are the energy producing part of the plant. If you cut them off, no photosynthesis can occur. Taking care of roses can sometimes be balance between cutting and not cutting.

An important safety tip for any gardener is to use sharp shears or a sharp knife while cutting. A dull knife creates extra resistance and makes you more prone to accidents. Sharp cuts are also better for the rose brushes.

When deadheading or pruning rose bushes that are young, it is important to only remove the bloom and the top of the stem, perhaps to the first set of leaves. This is necessary to remember because with younger bushes, as removing too much weakens the stem.

When pruning rose bushes, it is important to prune carefully. Cutting of too much could mean cutting off next year’s flowers before they’ve bloomed. Carefully cut away branches that are outside where the rose bush is supposed to grow, and cut off any old or dead stems and branches. If there are parts of the rose bush that are diseased, those parts unfortunately may need to be completely chopped off. For those who don’t like the look of the bare sticks, it may be best to choose a rose with beautiful foliage as well, so that at least you have some nice green leaves to look at while you wait.

A rose bush that has just been pruned and deadheaded may look somewhat unhealthy and dead, but it is actually very healthy and just waiting to store up the energy to bloom again.