Deadheading geraniums is a simple yet effective gardening practice that can significantly enhance your plant’s appearance and overall health. By regularly removing spent blooms, you're encouraging your geraniums to produce more flowers, creating a vibrant and colorful display throughout the growing season. Geranium deadheading is a valuable technique that every gardener should master.
Why Deadhead Geraniums?
Not only does deadheading geraniums boost flower production, but it also helps to prolong the plant's lifespan. When you deadhead, you're preventing the plant from expending energy on seed production and instead directing it towards new growth and blooms. This process can result in a more compact and bushy plant with a profusion of flowers.
If you are in deadheading mode, you may also want to look at this article on how to pinch back petunias.
If you also love geraniums as much as I do, you probably want to take a peek at the red geraniums post and the planter geraniums post.
Table of contents
Care tips
Watering your plants in the summer is so important for the health and longevity of your planters. Fertilizing is also important. There are lots of details in this how to water your plants article.
When to deadhead
I find deadheading geranium flowers to be a very simple chore. It can easily be done by hand, with no need for any tools or gloves. It is important to do it correctly for the benefit of the plant and for the aesthetics of the plant in general. Pictures are provided below so you can see the individual steps.
But first, you need to recognize when to deadhead. The geranium cluster of flowers is spent, it's an old bloom crying out for you to deadhead the old bloom.
I've circled the ones most in need of being removed.
Deadheading Geraniums in Pots
Of course, you are able to snip the flower stem off with a pair of sharp scissors or gardening snips. You do need to make sure to snip at the base of the flower stem right at the joint.
I prefer to snap the faded flower stalk right off. It's such a satisfying sound and feeling. You'll learn that people just can't help deadheading once they know how to do it correctly. I'll admit to doing it while waiting for the door to be answered!
Follow the stem down to where it is attached to the main plant stem. Find the spent plant and just run your fingers down the stalk.
A closer view of the "V" where the flower stalk and the flower stem meet. Just slide your finger and thumb close to where the joint is. Below is a closer look.
Normally, the 'v' naturally stops your fingers from running down further.
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Just give the stalk a little push down and it will make a satisfying little snap. You can usually feel it more than hear it.
You end up taking off the bare stems and the dead heads of the top flowers. There are no leaves attached to the flower stem.
DO NOT just remove the top deadhead flowers like I show in the image below. I've seen plants where the entire flower cluster is the only thing removed and not the thin stem. Then you have a funny spikey looking plant.
You end up with all kinds of picky stalks sticking up and they don'd look good on the plant.
What to do after deadheading
The flower stalks you have removed can just be tossed into the compost pile (or your yard waste collection area).
The geranium plant is going to focus on creating new flowers. I find it's a good idea to give the plant some diluted water-soluble fertilizer to give it a boost nutrition-wise.
Personally, I have found this bloom-boosting fertilizer to be the best for keeping my flowering plants blooming. Just a word of caution, don't use this towards the end of the season on any of your perennials. At the end of the summer, you want perennials to focus on getting ready for the winter, not creating more flowers.
Give your geranium plant a few days and your plant will be in full bloom with lots of color again! You can see a bunch of new unopened geranium flowers just a day or two from opening!
FAQ's
When the flower is past it's prime, deadhead it. It takes me just a couple of minutes a day. I tend to walk around my yard in the morning and if I see some flowers that need deadheading, off with their heads!
Deadhead them about 5-7 days before your visitors arrive. And make sure to give them some fertilizer. You will have fresh blossoms and your planters will look beautiful!
More Geranium Articles
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Eva
Finally.!! ..someone exactly showing and telling me how to deadhead my geraniums.. I always deadhead, but now I find out not always correct...These flowers sit on my front porch, that face the brutal west facing sun in Utah.. I found they survive the best in the dry heat.. I just found this year, that there are scented varieties, like ginger and lemon, as well as ivy, (trailing).. who new? Thank you so much.. great information
Deane Palmer
Fantastic amount of real information with detailed step by step pictures & tips!
The series of topics are designed for both experienced & new gardeners which amounts to huge savings of time, money as well as disappointing results..
Melisa Summers
My geraniums are producing a good amount of flower shoots but they are not opening. They are in full sun and I water them regularly when the soil gets dry. Any suggestions?
Susan Moncrieff
I find my geraniums flower well if I feed them regularly. I use a diluted Miracle Grow formula called Blooms. Specifically Blooms. I dilute to about 1/2 the strength recommended and water with it every 2 weeks or so.
Colleen
When do you fertilize your geraniums
Susan Moncrieff
Hi Coleen,
I fertilize my geraniums with a weak solution of Miracle Grow Bloom (not the regular Miracle Grow but the Bloom one) every 7-10 days.
Fereshteh
I do love and need gardening it’s like therapy to take a break from daily stresses I like to learn more about outdoor plants
Thank you so much