Deadheading flowers in Tiverton

### Why Deadhead?

**Because most flowering plants are trying to make seeds, not please you.**

Once a flower's pollinated, the plant switches energy to seed production. That means fewer new flowers. But if you remove the spent blooms before seeds form, the plant keeps pumping out flowers trying to complete its mission.

It's basically **tricking your plants into flowering for months instead of weeks**.

Plus, deadheaded plants just look better - tidy, healthy, intentional. Not sad and covered in brown faded flowers.

> 💡 **Pro tip:** Deadheading also prevents diseases. Old flowers rot, get mouldy, and spread problems to healthy growth. Removing them keeps plants healthier overall.

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### What Regular Deadheading Achieves

| ✅ Deadheaded Plants | ❌ Left Alone | |----------------------|---------------| | Flower continuously all summer | Bloom once then stop | | Look tidy and well-maintained | Brown spent flowers everywhere | | Healthy (no rotting petals) | Disease spreading from old blooms | | Put energy into new flowers | Put energy into seed production |

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### What I Deadhead

**🌹 Roses** The classic deadheading candidate. Regular removal = continuous flowering all summer. I cut back to the next five-leaf junction (proper rose deadheading technique).

**🌺 Bedding Plants** Geraniums, petunias, marigolds - they flower non-stop if deadheaded. Just pinch off spent blooms and they keep going till frost.

**🌸 Perennials** Depends on the plant: - Delphiniums, lupins, foxgloves - cut whole spent spike - Salvias, nepeta, geraniums - trim back faded flowers - Dahlias - remove spent blooms to keep them producing

**🌼 What I Don't Deadhead** - Self-cleaning plants (impatiens, begonias) - Plants you want to self-seed (forget-me-nots, aquilegia) - Late-season flowers for winter seed heads (echinaceas, sedums) - Things too fiddly to bother with

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### The Process

**📋 Assessment**

| What I Look At | Why It Matters | |----------------|----------------| | **Which plants benefit** | Not everything needs deadheading | | **How much is spent** | Might be 10 minutes or 2 hours | | **Any pest/disease issues** | Flag while I'm working | | **Whether to cut back further** | Some plants need more than just deadheading |

**✂️ The Deadheading** - Roses cut back to next five-leaf junction - Bedding plants pinched or snipped - Perennial spikes removed entirely - Climbers (jasmine, honeysuckle) tidied - All spent material collected and removed

**📦 You Get** - Plants flowering longer and more prolifically - Tidy, healthy-looking garden - All debris cleared away - Advice on which plants need what going forward

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### Pricing

| Garden Size | Estimated Time | You'll Pay | |-------------|----------------|------------| | Small garden, few flowering plants | 1 hr | **£60** | | Average garden, typical borders | 1-1.5 hrs | **£60-£85** | | Large garden or cottage garden style | 2-2.5 hrs | **£110-£135** |

*Based on £60 minimum (first hour) + £50/hr after. Regular maintenance visits can be booked fortnightly/monthly.*

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### Perfect For Your Garden If...

✅ **You want flowers all summer** - deadheading makes it happen

✅ **Your roses stop flowering** - they'll rebloom if deadheaded properly

✅ **Garden looks scruffy** - removing spent blooms instantly tidies it up

✅ **You can't bend/reach easily** - let me do the fiddly cutting