To ensure an abundant and continuous flowering in our annuals and perennials we must eliminate the wilted flowers. In this way, we will make them look more beautiful, since we will reduce the risk that those petals that are drying out become a source of infections.
Here are some tips to help you do it successfully.
Why must withered flowers be cut?
Removal of withered flowers is preferable for most annuals and some perennials. If we do not take this into account, we can end up delaying or preventing the formation of new flower stalks.
In the first place, the fact of cutting these dead flowers is done for aesthetic purposes, but we also know that in this way we will avoid the appearance of low-quality seeds for their next flowering season. Keep in mind that plants, when they have flowers, tend to develop seeds as well, and if the energy is spent in generating those seeds in dead flowers, not only will you have poor quality, but you will not be able to create new flowers, which is what What we want.
In short, it is a good method to promote the appearance of new, good-looking flowers.
When to cut withered flowers
One question that you may ask yourself when cutting wilted flowers is when you should do it. When the appearance already shows that they are dead? When do the petals start to fall off? Before after?
The truth is that experts recommend that dead flowers are cut before the plant begins to develop seeds. And it has a reason to do so.
As you know, when the plant creates the seeds, it uses energy. If the flowers are good, the seeds will be of good quality and you will have many; but when the flowers are dead, the plant does not understand that it must not create seeds there. It does so, causing, as we have said before, that they are of lower quality. But also that it uses more energy.
What to do then? If before the seeds start you cut those flowers, you will be achieving two things:
- On the one hand, the quality of the seeds of the flowers that are still good is even better.
- On the other hand, reserve that energy to create new buds and new flowers, with which you could have a greater flowering.
The choice already depends a little on the use that you are going to give the seeds. If you are not going to use them and you do not care, you could let the plant follow its natural rhythmthat is, without intervening and letting it develop freely. In this case, to help it in the end, you could cut the branches in pruning season so that they sprout and bloom again.
If you are concerned and want the plant to bloom more or even keep it blooming longer, then you should be careful to cut those withered flowers, or even those that are beginning to wither (which, in case you don’t know, you can use for others. applications).
How to remove them to promote flowering?
To eliminate the dead flowers of a perennial plant we will use the pruning shears, making diagonal cuts, at an angle of 40-45º and a few millimeters above the third or fourth sheet. You want to make sure that you don’t cut in the wrong place, because that way you could be removing the stem that will produce new flowers.
In some varieties of plants, the stems must be cut in half (for example, those seen in the images), so it will be necessary to inform you specifically for each plant before doing anything. If you achieve this, you will be assured of a good production, enough to make a fantastic bouquet of flowers!
Here we leave you some of the most common plants from which you would have to remove dead flowers (and how to do it in each one of them).
Remove dead flowers from daisies
To start, the first thing you need is to put on some gloves. And there are some stems that are more resistant and difficult to cut, in addition to that they can irritate your skin.
It is important that remove the daisies that are dead one by one, either with your fingers or with pruning shears. Do not be afraid to cut even one that is good, because you will help the plant to preserve energy to re-bloom.
Remove dead flowers on petunias
In the case of petunias, in case you don’t know, they are sticky to the touch. An expert trick is to wet the flowers before touching them, and wait first thing in the morning to cut them.
Of course, you should do it because dead flowers on the plant rot and can transfer that rot to the stem of the plant (and that this affects the whole set).
Geraniums
The geraniums they are characterized by being plants with many flowers in a cluster. The problem is that when some of these flowers wither, they can affect the rest, causing them to be lost as well. Therefore, it is best eliminate them one by one at the first symptom.
Sometimes it is even necessary to cut part of the stem so that there is no problem.
Roses
In the case of roses, when cutting it is recommended to do it as much as possible, that is. If it is a single rosebush, you can cut part of the stem (as we have indicated). But if each rod has stems for different leaves, the best thing to do when cutting it is to do it at the base of that stem.
What can you use dead flowers for?
You have made the decision to cut off the wilted flowers from your plants. Surely, now you will have many flowers that you will think about throwing away, or to make compost. But what if we tell you that there are other uses?
Indeed, in addition to discarding them, you could use them for other things. For instance:
Make a potpourri of scents
In this case, you would have to gather withered flowers from various plants. Although their condition is not the best, and aesthetically they are not pretty, that does not mean that they cannot serve. They still give off their scent, sometimes even more so than the perfect flowers.
So you could collect a selection of them, let them dry completely, and then use essential oils to increase that fragrance in them (this can be by spraying it or in a bowl of water).
In a matter of 6 weeks (which is the time it will take for everything to mix well), you will be able to open the jar in which you have put them and enjoy the aroma that emanates from it.
Preserve withered flowers
In this case you need the flowers that are not too dead, that is, when you notice the first symptoms that the flower has already matured and begins to decline. If you cut it at that moment you will make it look alive, and you can use it to preserve it, for example in silica gel, making a ball, or a square in which, in the center, you would have that flower.
Dried flower arrangement
Do you like flowers a lot? Then you could have one at home tray with various dried flowers on it. It would be enough to collect the withered flowers, let them dry completely (a matter of 2 weeks) and then place them in the tray.
You can decorate it with other elements to give them a more curious, original touch, etc.
As you can see, the fact of eliminating the withered flowers is not only a question of beauty, that the plant looks healthy, but also of health. In this way, you could even increase flowering even more, not only making it produce more flowers, but also allowing you to enjoy flowers beyond the “normal” period of each plant. Have you ever tried to do it? What results have you obtained?
