Shrubs to Deadhead in Summer

By Kristina Howley for Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs
Photos courtesy of Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs

Our gardens do so much for us! So it feels good to go in and do a little work for them. If you like a tidy look or you’re just itching to get out into the garden, there are some shrubs that you can deadhead in the summertime. They may even benefit from a trim!

Butterfly Bush Buddleia

While Proven Winners ColorChoice butterfly bushes don’t need to be deadheaded to rebloom, you may still be interested in the task. If it’s hard to see the beauty of the plant past its brown spent flowers, you can cut them off at any time. It won’t hurt the plant or delay rebloom.

TRIMMING INFO: Cut off a single bloom by trimming just above the spot where it branches off. Cut off a set of spent flowers by removing the whole structure down to the set of leaves (or flower buds) below.

A butterfly bush flower that has lost all of its color and is about to be deadheaded at the proper spot - just above a set of buds or leaves.

Crapemyrtle Lagerstroemia indica

If you’ve got some time on your hands, you might as well have some spent crapemyrtle flowers in them too! These plants respond well to deadheading. They’ll often put out a second, smaller flush of flowers if you get to the task right after the flower is finished.

TRIMMING INFO: Follow the stem of the spent flower down to a leaf, cut just above that.

a pair of pruners deadheading a spent crapemyrtle flower

Diervilla Diervilla lonicera

The petals fall off the sepals of diervilla, so they aren’t left behind to create a lumpy brown mess. The bunches of sepals are pretty inconspicuous, but if you like a tidy plant, you can cut them off. This ensures the plant has the uniform medium visual texture that looks so good in a garden bed.

TRIMMING INFO: While this may seem dramatic, it’s best to cut off the whole bunch of sepals and the set of leaves accompanying them. It creates a tidier look. Cut just above the set of leaves below.

A gardener trimming a spent flower off of a diervilla shrub, cutting just above a set of leaves.

Esperanza Tecoma

Big showy panicles mean big empty stems when the flowers are finished. While they are pretty inconspicuous, you might wish to trim them off to neaten the plant up. These plants bloom on new wood, so you won’t have to worry about cutting back too hard or at the wrong time.

TRIMMING INFO: Follow the stem of the spent flower down to the set of leaflets. Snip just above them.

A Chicklet Orange esperanza is getting a spent flower cut off just above a set of leaves.

Indian Hawthorn Rhaphiolepis indica

These flowers come from old growth, so you’ll want to be careful with your cuts. Some Indian hawthorns like La Vida Mas® rebloom in the summer, so try to get to the task as soon as possible after the blooms are spent in spring.

TRIMMING INFO: Follow each part of the spent flower down to a leaf and cut just above it. A pair of snips might work better than pruners for this fine maneuvering.

A pair of pruners deadheading a spent Indian hawthorn flower

Lilac Syringa

This task can be performed in late spring or early summer when the flowers are well and truly gone. For Bloomerang® lilacs, you’ll want to deadhead pretty quickly so they don’t spend energy on those spent flowers. Instead, they’ll direct energy toward blooming again later in the summer!

TRIMMING INFO: Follow the stem of the lilac all the way down to a leaf and cut just above it.

A small spent flower on Bloomerang Purpink is being trimmed off by pruners.

Rose Rosa

Some roses are self-cleaning, which means their petals fall off by themselves, leaving behind the sepals and stems. These flower parts are not very noticeable and tend to blend in if a rose reblooms. Roses that don’t self-clean will generally clump up and the petals will turn brown. They are a lot more noticeable.

TRIMMING INFO: With either type of rose you’ll follow the stem of the spent flower down to the first leaf that has five leaflets. Cut just above it. If the flower stem leads to a main stem, cut just before that.

An Oso Easy Double Red rose is being deadheaded.

Spirea Spiraea

There are many different types of spirea! Some bloom on old wood, some on new, and some rebloom through summer (like Double Play Doozie® in the picture)! They can all be deadheaded. Plus, new growth is often a different color so it might just be worth your time to get the spent flowers out of the way to see it better.

TRIMMING INFO: Follow the stem of the spent flower down to either the next set of leaves or flower buds. Snip just above them.

A gardener using a pair of pruners to snip a dead flower off of a spirea plant, just above a set of leaves with flower buds.

Sweetspire Itea

Generally these plants will bloom in late spring or early summer. Flowers leave behind a tall, skinny stem. If left to their own devices, seeds may form. They are harmless, but producing them costs the plant energy. If you deadhead, the plant can then use that energy to produce healthy new foliage and next year’s buds! If you leave them in place, birds may eat the seeds, but they aren’t typically a preferred food source.

TRIMMING INFO: Cut just above the leaf below the spent flower.

A spent flower on a Fizzy Mizzy sweetspire getting deadheaded by a pair of pruners.

Of course, there are even more shrubs that could be deadheaded. However, for many, it’s either too tedious or the petals fall off naturally, leaving behind something that is either nondescript or pretty in its own way. Like clematis or ninebark. Those are the shrubs you can just let be, while you focus on the ones that need a little cleaning up during these late summer weeks.

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