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Jordan Emerson of Grabouw writes: Is it true that my ‘Delicate Beauty’ rose will flower better when the dead blooms are cut off?
Ludwig replies: Yes. When a rose (or any other flower, for that matter) finishes blooming and the dead flower is left on the bush, the next step is to develop seed. But when the spent bloom is cut off, a message is sent to the roots that there is no flower and a new bloom needs to be made. So, there is more to deadheading than just cutting off the blooms to keep your rose shrubs looking neat. The normal procedure for deadheading is to cut off the flower, as well as two or three leaves further down the stem. For roses to bloom well, make sure they are fertilised once a month and watered deeply twice a week during hot, dry weather.
On the other hand, if you don’t want to encourage the rose to sprout, for instance during a drought, water shortages or extremely hot weather, then keep deadheading to a minimum, or don’t do it at all; the rose will then become semi-dormant.
