Deadheading tips

Here are a few extra tips for snipping around the garden.

Let a few flowers form seed

Leave a few flowers on hardy annuals such as love-in-a-mist, nasturtiums and Calendula to form seed pods. Let these ripen and dry out, then collect for sowing in autumn or spring.

Pinch out and apply liquid feed

Pinch out the straggly growth of fuchsias and other summer bedding to encourage new shoots that will produce more flowers. If you also water regularly and apply liquid feed, you will ensure the display continues into the autumn.

Let some plants form seedheads

Be selective with your deadheading. The seedheads of many plants, such as honesty, are highly ornamental in winter.

Encourage roses to bloom again

Snip faded blooms from repeat-flowering roses, cutting back flowers or clusters to a lower leaf. This will encourage a second flush of blooms later in the year. Some varieties produce attractive hips in autumn, so it's worth leaving these flowers in place.