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    Home » Gardening & Outdoors » Planters / Containers

    Deadheading Geraniums

    Published: Feb 25, 2023 · Modified: Feb 25, 2023 by Susan Moncrieff · This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

    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.

    red geraniums in window boxes on a large building

    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

    • Why Deadhead Geraniums?
    • Care tips
    • When to deadhead
    • Deadheading Geraniums in Pots
    • What to do after deadheading
    • FAQ's
    • More Geranium Articles
    Planter with red geraniiums, purple petunias and sweet potato vine.

    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.

    Spent geranium flowers are circled and they will be deadheaded

    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.

    deadheading geraniums - choosing a flower that is spent to be removed

    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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    the point where the flower stalk and main geranium plant meet

    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.

    deadheading geraniums - geranium stem being snapped off

    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.

    dead headed geranium stalk

    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.

    do not deadhead by just cutting off the flower without the stem

    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!

    blooming red geranium

    FAQ's

    How often should geraniums be deadheaded?

    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!

    I have people coming over and want my geraniums to look great? I'm afraid to deadhead and not have flowering plants!

    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

    • Over 20 flower planter ideas from my neighborhood!
      31 Planter Ideas and Inspiration
    • red geraniums with vinca vine in a window box.
      Red Geraniums
    • pink geraniums elevated on a piece of a log
      Growing Geraniums
    • black and white painted flower pot with red geraniums, purple and white petunias and tall purple fountain grass.
      15+ Front Porch Plants and Flower Pot Ideas

    If you are on Pinterest, please do me a favor and pin this to one of your boards!

    Text states deadheading geraniums, how and why.  Upper image has geraniums that need to be removed circled in white. Bottom image shows a planter with lots of healthy red geraniums flowering.

    More Planters / Containers

    • vintage planter with green patina
      How to Find Cheap Planters (and Repurpose What You Already Have)
    • Tabletop display of vintage flower frogs, including green ceramic, metal cage, clear glass styles, and a cranberry glass vase with a grid insert
      What Is a Flower Frog? (Antique & Vintage Examples)
    • blue tinted mason jar containing daisies. Mason jar is clamped to a piece of white painted wood. This is a DIY mason jar wall vase.
      Wall-Mounted Mason Jar Vase
    • concrete bird bath with succulents planted in it.
      Bird Bath Planter: Turn an Old Birdbath into a Succulent Garden

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    1. Eva

      June 20, 2023 at 10:35 am

      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

      Reply
    2. Deane Palmer

      June 03, 2023 at 1:05 am

      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..

      Reply
      • Melisa Summers

        June 01, 2024 at 7:25 pm

        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?

        Reply
        • Susan Moncrieff

          June 01, 2024 at 8:45 pm

          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.

          Reply
    3. Colleen

      May 11, 2023 at 10:05 am

      When do you fertilize your geraniums

      Reply
      • Susan Moncrieff

        May 11, 2023 at 11:20 am

        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.

        Reply
      • Fereshteh

        June 06, 2023 at 12:25 pm

        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

        Reply

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    I'm Susan! I love sharing easy recipes, especially those that take less than 30 minutes and have less than 5 ingredients. I'm passionate about gardening and creating flower planters. My home is 100 years old and sometimes you will see it in my posts! It was a true fixer upper and I love it!

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    Deadheading Geraniums, how to and why to. Images of geranium plant needing to be deadheaded and a healthy plant with lots of flowering red geraniums.