This is a quick guide on how to deadhead climbing roses for more blooms. If you’ve ever wondered why you plant stops producing blooms after it’s first round, or you don’t have many flowers anymore, its probably because you aren’t deadheading.
What is Deadheading?
Deadheading flowers isn’t as complicated as it seems. It is a simple act of removing the finished flowers from the plant. Basically any flowers that look like they are dying back and loosing their petals, or turning brown. This encourages the plant to produce more new blooms instead of putting its energy into seed.
Call me crazy, but I walk around my property to deadhead two times a day! Once in the morning and again in the afternoon.
What are Climbing Roses?
Climbing roses are a type of rose plant with long, flexible canes. The canes can be trained to grow up trellises, fences, or other structures. Climbing roses need a little help to guide their growth. They produce beautiful blooms, often in large clusters. This can add a stunning vertical element to your garden. I love then since they are perfect for creating a romantic, picturesque cottage garden setting.
When to Deadhead
Deadheading climbing roses is very important for encouraging new blooms and maintaining the health! Here’s when you should deadhead them:
After the First Bloom Cycle: The best time to deadhead climbing roses is right after the first bloom cycle in late spring or early summer. This encourages the plant to produce more flowers during the growing season.
Throughout the Growing Season: Continue to deadhead spent blooms throughout the summer and early fall. Regular deadheading promotes continuous blooming and prevents the plant from wasting energy on producing rosehips.
Before Winter: Stop deadheading in late fall as the plant prepares for dormancy. This allows the rose hips to form, which can help the plant harden off for winter and provide food for wildlife.
Removing a Finished Bloom
When you have a spent bloom on a flowering head you want to leave the rest of the blooms or buds to grow. Focus on the finished flower itself by pinching or cutting just below where the base of the flower joins the stem. Remember to eave any remaining buds or blooms to continue flowering.
Removing a Flowering Head
When the entire cluster of blooms on the flowering head are finished you can remove the entire head. This will encourage a new set of buds to form. To do this simply remove the entire flowering head by cutting the stem just above the first leaf with five leaflets. Once all the flowering heads have been removed, cut any tall stems back to the size of the rest of the rose plant, creating a rounded shape as you go.
