Here is a question we get asked a lot regarding flower care during July: Which flowers benefit from dead-heading in July and why?

Dead-heading is the process of removing spent (faded) flowers before they produce seeds. For many flowering plants, it’s one of the simplest ways to keep them healthy and blooming.

Here are the main benefits:

• 🌸 Encourages more blooms – Many annuals and repeat-blooming perennials respond by producing new flower buds instead of putting energy into making seeds.
• 🌿 Extends the flowering season – Plants like petunias, geraniums, roses, zinnias, and coreopsis often bloom for weeks or even months longer when regularly dead-headed.
• ✨ Keeps plants looking tidy – Removing brown, wilted flowers improves the appearance of flower beds and containers.
• 💪 Redirects the plant’s energy – Instead of producing seeds, the plant uses its resources for new flowers, foliage, and stronger growth.
• 🌱 Reduces unwanted self-seeding – Dead-heading prevents some plants from scattering seeds where you may not want them.
• 🍄 Improves air circulation – Cleaning up old flowers can reduce the chance of fungal diseases by removing decaying plant material.

When not to dead-head

Some plants are better left alone:

• 🌾 Leave flowers if you want to collect seeds for next year.
• 🐦 Leave seed heads on plants like coneflowers and sunflowers if you’d like to feed birds in fall and winter.
• ❄️ Many ornamental grasses and plants with attractive seed heads provide winter interest.
• 🌼 Some perennials naturally stop blooming after one flush, so dead-heading won’t produce another round of flowers.

How to dead-head correctly

1. Find the faded bloom.
2. Follow the flower stem down to the first set of healthy leaves or a side bud.
3. Use clean pruners or your fingers to snip or pinch just above that point.
4. Repeat every few days during peak blooming season.

July is an excellent month to dead-head many popular garden flowers, including roses, petunias, geraniums, zinnias, salvia, coreopsis, black-eyed Susans, and repeat-blooming daisies. Spending just 10–15 minutes once a week can noticeably increase blooms through late summer.

Happy gardening!

Your Friends at Loma Vista Farm

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