Depending on how thick the stems of your plant are, you will need to use either gardening shears or a hedge trimmer to deadhead your plant. Plants that grow aggressively or that produce a large number of flowers may need to be deadheaded more frequently. Try to deadhead flowering plants when there are at least a handful of fading flowers to trim. Not all flowers need to be deadheaded. Some self-seeding plants such as columbines, scorpion grass, and poppies do best if you let their blooms grow and fade naturally.
Spring. Plants that flower in the spring should be pruned immediately after the blooms wilt and the flowers fade. Summer. Summer-flowering plants should be pruned in the late winter or early spring to allow some time for new growth before the plant starts blooming again. Evergreens. Evergreens need to be trimmed at minimum once during the spring before they start blooming again. If you have the time, it’s ideal to prune them in the late autumn or early winter after their flowers fade, as well. Annuals. Annuals will need to be trimmed as they are blooming to remove deadheads and encourage new growth.
Remember to wear thick gardening gloves while you’re cutting back your plants. If you are working with flowers like roses that have thorns or stickers, you should also wear a durable, long-sleeved shirt. Cutting back should only be done after a plant has flowered. After a flowering plant has been cut back, it may need a little more attention. The plant needs to be well-watered, and the soil surrounding it should be aerated.
Pinching can be done with garden shears. For many plants, though, you can also pinch stems with your fingers by using your nails to cut through the new growth. Pinching also helps produce branching growth and flowering stems.
Try to pinch buds evenly across the plant. The process won’t be effective if you leave one side of the plant to bloom and remove all the flowers from the other side. In most cases, pinching buds can be done with your fingernails.
Leave the buds facing outward intact. These are flowers that will get the necessary sun to flourish and keep your plant looking healthy. Removing terminal buds and inward-facing buds will help redirect a plant’s energy to producing more flowers.
Thinning your plant will focus the plant’s energy on the stems producing vibrant, healthy flowers. Thinning should be done regularly on quick-growing plants to make sure the flowers will renew themselves. At a minimum, try to thin a plant at least once before it blooms and once after the blooming season.
If new stems are not growing in the direction you want, use your fingers or gardening shears to pinch them as close to the stalk as you can right above an outward-facing bud or a bud facing the direction you want it to grow.
If you aren’t used to shearing, a rectangular or trapezoidal shape will be easier to achieve than a round shape. Use a string line tied between a stake in the ground and the edge of the bush as a visual guide for your cuts. Shearing stimulates buds to create new growth. Regular shearing as your bush starts to outgrow its shape will help direct future growth. Some bushes do better if you shape them on their natural growth patterns. Follow the contours of the growth for a healthy trim.
If you want your plant to be bushier, thin out old growth in the center of the plant. This will encourage the areas most exposed to the sun to expand outward.
