How To Deadhead Your Marigolds And Make Them Bloom Again

Marigolds are a great option for borders or edging your flower beds because they easily intermingle with other flowers. Marigolds add a splash of color to any garden with their bright yellow, orange, and red blooms.

Deadheading marigolds is an easy way to keep annuals looking healthy and attractive and is a great way to provide your marigold plants with more blooms.

But, what is deadheading and why bother? Read on to learn how to deadhead marigolds and the benefits of deadheading marigolds.

What is Deadheading?

If you are growing marigolds in your garden, you may have heard the term “deadhead.”

Deadheading is the process of removing dead or dying flowers from a plant to improve its appearance and encourage new growth.

The term also refers to the act of pruning back old flower stems and buds before they are fully open. In both cases, the goal is to encourage the plant to put its energy into new growth rather than seed production.

Should You Deadhead Marigolds?

Marigolds are annuals, meaning they have a one-year life cycle. In other words, they don’t bloom again after the first flush of flowers and will die with the first frost.

Marigold plants benefit from deadheading since it encourages fresh blooms and discourages the plant from producing seeds.

However, if you are growing marigolds for their seed heads, you can skip this process.

Benefits of Deadheading Marigolds:

Some immediate benefits of deadheading marigolds are:

• The plant will produce more flowers.
• The entire flower bed will look neater, as dead flowers are removed.
• Deadheaded plants will live longer than those that are not deadheaded.
• As an added bonus, cutting back a marigold will make it bushier, with more stems and leaves that offer protection for developing buds and flowers.

If you don’t remove spent marigold flowers, the plant will direct its energy to seed production instead of new flower formation. This can result in reduced flowering and a less than attractive plant once seed heads form.

Deadheading marigolds as soon as flowers fade will ensure your plants remain healthy and attractive for the duration of their life cycles.

Before You Start Deadheading Marigolds:

Wait until the flowers on your marigolds have fully bloomed. You will know when they are ready for deadheading because the petals will begin to turn brown or yellow, and may even look a bit wilted.

Make sure the plants are completely dry before you begin deadheading them. If it has recently rained or if they have been watered, wait until they have had enough time to dry out. Wet flowers are more likely to stick together, which could lead to problems while deadheading them.

Wear protective gloves and long sleeves to prevent allergic reactions from the sap on the plants.

Collect all of your tools so that they are readily available when needed. Clean your tools with disinfectants before starting the process.

These are very helpful protective measures that reduce the chance of any injury during deadheading.

Tools You Need:

Before deadheading your marigolds, gather your gardening tools in order to make the job easier and more efficient. The main tools are:

• A pair of gloves,
• sharp garden scissors or pruners
• A bucket to collect the deadheaded plants

How to Deadhead Marigolds:

Deadheading marigold plants is very simple and only requires a little time on your part

Check your marigold plants frequently for fading flowers.

Initially, you will see the petal tips are starting to curl or green colors in the middle of the flowers which usually means the beginnings of a new seed pod.

Use one hand to hold the stem firmly as you remove the flower with your other hand. You can either pinch off each individual flower or simply cut off an entire cluster of flowers with scissors or pruning shears.

Now, pinch off each individual flower at its base, where it meets up with the stem, and discard the dead flowers somewhere away from the plant so that they don’t attract pests or diseases that could harm your marigold plants. If a flower head is fading, but still has some petals, remove it anyway.

While removing the flower be careful not to damage the leaves, new flowers will emerge from this area.

After you removed the faded flowers, remove branches that are either too long or too weak. this step will need sharp scissors or pruners.

When Should Marigolds Be Deadheaded:

The best time to deadhead marigolds is during their growing season. As soon as you notice the flower has withered, pinch off the dead flower head.

The goal is to remove the blossom before it can form seeds. It will allow more energy to go towards producing more flowers instead of forming seeds.

Do it in the morning when they are fully open.

How Often Should You Deadhead?

If your marigolds are in large containers or beds, deadhead them at least once every three weeks, or as often as necessary to keep them looking good.

If they’re in smaller containers, such as pots, check them weekly and remove any fading flowers before they begin to droop and wilt.

You’ll want to deadhead marigolds regularly throughout the entire growing season in order to keep them looking their best.

If you allow some of the flowers on your plants to go to seed, you will likely end up with self-sown marigold seedlings around your yard next spring.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it could result in a lot of weeds if you don’t want extra marigolds growing in your garden.

If you’d rather not have excess plants, ensure that you deadhead all of the blooms before they begin to go to seed. If a few seeds do fall, simply pull up any unwanted seedlings right away so that they don’t become established in your garden.

Deadheading Vs Pruning:

Although deadheading seems exactly like pruning, it is slightly different. In pruning, we mainly remove fresh green branches to increase airflow, remove clutter and increase fruit or flower sizes.

In deadheading, we remove parts of the plant that are already dead or begin to mature or for seeds. Deadheading doesn’t mean removing green fresh branches.

Conclusion:

If you enjoy the bright orange, yellow, and white color marigold plants to your garden and want them to last longer in your beds, deadheading is definitely a way to go.

With the steps we discussed above, you can prolong the blooming season of your favorite marigolds.

By deadheading marigold plants regularly, you can keep them growing and blooming for several weeks—even months—longer than they would without this intervention.

Hopefully, this post has been helpful for you. If so, please share it with anyone who you think might find it useful.