Deadheading is one of those little garden chores that makes a big difference. By removing spent flowers, you can help your plants focus their energy on producing more blooms instead of going to seed.
If you’re like me and love squeezing every last bit of color out of your garden, deadheading is key. With a little care, these late bloomers can keep flowering well into the fall, and sometimes even early winter.
Let’s look at nine plants that will keep giving if you keep deadheading them!
1) Chrysanthemums (Mums)
Mums are the stars of fall, and they can really put on a show if you give them some attention. I always deadhead mine, and I’m rewarded with more blooms that last deep into the season.
Mums love to keep blooming when you pinch off the spent flowers.
How to Deadhead: Snip off the dead blooms right above a set of leaves. This encourages the plant to push out side shoots, which means more flowers!
2) Asters
Asters are one of my favorite fall flowers, and they’re fantastic at filling the garden with late-season color. But to keep them looking their best, you need to deadhead them regularly.
Deadheading keeps asters tidy and helps them produce more blooms.
How to Deadhead: Remove the faded flowers down to the nearest leaf or bud. This helps the plant focus its energy on new growth.
3) Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan)
Rudbeckia always brings that sunny splash of yellow, even as the days start to cool. Deadheading them helps extend the bloom period, and also prevents them from self-seeding all over the place.
How to Deadhead: Snip off the dead flower heads at the base of the stem. This will keep the plant looking neat and encourage more flowers.
4) Sedum (Autumn Joy)
Sedum is one of those plants that people sometimes let be for its winter interest, but I’ve found that deadheading mine encourages stronger growth for the next season.
How to Deadhead: Cut back the dead flowers down to the next set of leaves.
5) Coreopsis
Coreopsis can bloom all the way into fall if you give it a little love. I love how this plant adds a pop of color right when you think your garden is winding down.
Regular deadheading keeps the flowers coming, extending the season.
How to Deadhead: Trim off the spent blooms down to the next flower bud or leaf to encourage new growth.
6) Echinacea (Coneflower)
Some gardeners like to leave Echinacea seed heads for the birds, but if you want more flowers in the late season, deadheading is the way to go.
How to Deadhead: Cut back the spent blooms to the nearest leaf or bud. This will encourage the plant to keep flowering.
7) Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)
Gaillardia is one of those plants that just keeps on giving if you take care of it. By deadheading, you can keep the vibrant blooms going until the first frost.
How to Deadhead: Remove the spent flowers at the base of the bloom, leaving the rest of the plant intact.
8) Helenium (Sneezeweed)
Helenium is another late bloomer that can keep producing flowers into fall with a little help from deadheading. I’ve had mine bloom all the way until frost with just a bit of regular care.
How to Deadhead: Cut back the spent blooms just above the leaf joint. This helps the plant keep flowering into the cooler months.
9) Shasta Daisy
Shasta daisies are always a classic, and deadheading them in the late season means more of those iconic white blooms as fall progresses.
Shasta daisies will produce new blooms with regular deadheading, keeping your garden fresh.
How to Deadhead: Snip off the dead flowers at the stem, right down to the nearest leaf, to encourage continued blooms.
Conclusion
Deadheading your late bloomers is a simple task that pays off with extra color in your garden well into fall.
By taking a few minutes to snip off spent blooms, you can keep your mums, asters, and all these other beautiful plants flowering longer. Plus, it keeps your garden looking neat and tidy.
So grab your pruners and enjoy an extended bloom season—right up until the first frost!