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How To Deadhead Marigolds in 6 Steps – A Step by Step Garden Guide

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Marigolds, one of the summer’s all-star flowers, really stand out in the backyard garden. Marigolds are easy to grow and vividly colored, and they brighten up your garden throughout summer.

They provide a plethora of advantages while also adding a splash of color. Those lovely yellow, pink, white, or yellow blooms, like all blossoms, fade. Deadheading marigolds keep the yard looking its best while also encouraging fresh blooms.

Learning how to deadhead marigolds might provide you with even more stunning flowers this growing season.

Marigolds are a wonderful flower to raise since they are so forgiving. They’re supposed to help keep pests out of your garden. They give lovely splashes of color to the yard and garden.

Some of the marigolds can even be harvested for fresh-cut flowers. Marigolds are simple to care for. On hot, dry days, you can water, but the flowers will forgive if you forget now and again.

How To Deadhead Marigolds
I was deadheading this weekend, starting to collect seeds – via Reddit

A Garden Guide on How To Deadhead Marigolds 

Deadheading is also known as “deadheading” or “pinching off.” They’re essentially the same thing, but some people refer to it by one over another. So if you talk to someone who uses terms different than your own, keep that in mind.

There’s no set schedule for when or how often you should deadhead; if a flower appears to be dead or crispy, it’s time to remove it.

Crumpled petals, wilted flowers, browning, or an overall appearance of lost beauty are all signals that marigolds are ready to be deadheaded. Of course, if you wait too long to deadhead marigolds, you’ll end up with seeds. You may not get any seeds if you deadhead frequently and early.

It’s more flexible than you would think when it comes to recognizing when marigolds must be deadheaded. In fact, some gardeners recommend sticking to a routine if it works for you, deadhead marigolds once a week.

If you want to collect marigold seeds, deadhead them throughout most of the growing season, then stop a month or so before the first forecast frost. This timing must allow some of the marigold blooms to go to seed, allowing you to grow more next season and share seeds!

Marigolds bloom all through the spring and summer, so you’ll be deadheading for a while. The more wasted blooms you remove, the faster the plant will generate new ones.

Deadheading marigolds might not have been a top priority with so many other garden tasks to complete. With a few easy steps, you can quickly solve this problem.

Continue reading to learn more about how to deadhead marigolds. You might want to make notes on the best way to deadhead marigolds at home.

Step 1: Identify the flower

First, you’ll need to identify the plant and check for fading flowers on the marigold plants. Find out how far down the stem the blossom is. Is it at the end of the stem? If so, you’re approaching deadheading time for this flower.

On the petals, look for brown curled tips or the appearance of green cores in the flowers. The green center is the beginning of a seed pod’s development. The marigold plants will stop blooming if they produce seeds.

Step 2: Choose your deadheading method based on stem length

Observe the flower stem all the way to the very first set of leaves. This is where you should deadhead the flower. There are several ways to go about deadheading marigolds, depending on how tall or short the stem is.

You can pinch the stem between your thumb and forefinger for shorter stems. You can use pruners to clip off the dead bloom for longer stems carefully. If you decide to pinch, be extra careful since it’s easy to damage or break short stems.

Step 3: Choose whether you should leave a stub or cut it cleanly

If your marigold stem is short, you’ll likely be leaving a stub. This makes it easier for the plant to recover quickly and put out fresh blooms. A long stem might need a clean cut from pruners.

Pinch back any stems that are becoming too long or weak. This will promote bushy growth and more bloom buds on the plant. Remove any stems, leaves, or blossoms that are infected or damaged. Place the plant pieces that have been removed in the compost pile.

Step 4: Dispose of deadheads immediately

Deadheading can be tedious, but many gardeners refuse to leave dead blooms in the garden. If they choose to leave them, they will either burn or compost them after removing any wilted leaves.

How To Deadhead Marigolds 2
Deadheading my marigolds paid off! – via Reddit

Step 5: Continue to remove deadheads until all dead flowers are gone

Remove spent blooms throughout summer by cutting just below the fading bloom. This helps encourage new blooms to form, which will give your marigolds a second life.

Step 6: Water your marigold thoroughly

Once the last deadhead is gone, you might need to water your plant. Make sure it’s getting enough water before proceeding. It needs one inch of water per week, so keep that in mind when watering your flowers. If it doesn’t get enough, you might end up with stunted flowers.

Marigolds are often used as cut flowers in bouquets that last a long time. To lessen the intense aroma of wet marigold leaves, take off any leaves below the waterline with cut marigolds.

Too much fertilizer encourages the growth of green leaves rather than flowers in marigolds. Marigolds bloom more abundantly on poor soil.

Marigolds are wonderful flowers to grow in the garden, and they’re easy to keep looking great while also encouraging more blooms. Knowing how to deadhead marigolds will help your yard stay beautiful this summer! When it comes to caring for marigolds, you really can’t go wrong.


Final Remarks 

Marigolds are mostly annuals, which means they die off and don’t come back in the winter. Allowing the flowers to reseed (not deadheading them) allows them to replant themselves in the garden and return the following year.

Some marigold species are perennials, as they come back year after year without needing to be replanted. Your flowers are likely perennials if their stalks are woodier.

When marigold flowers dry out and die, seeds fall to the ground. Leave the blossoms on the bush, and they’ll fall off naturally and replant their seeds, resulting in new plants.

It’s recommended to deadhead your marigolds frequently during the season if you want to keep them contained. The look of old, dead flowers isn’t very appealing, and it can detract from the overall vibe of your marigolds.

If you don’t like crispy, brown blossoms, you can deadhead the marigolds to make them last longer with freshness. You’ll have more flexibility in your yard if you know how to deadhead marigolds. Allow marigolds to seed or cut them down to stimulate additional blooms.