How to Cut Dead Rose Blooms

You'll need to deadhead your roses to see their full potential.

Cutting dead rose blooms is also referred to deadheading. When a rose bud blooms, it inevitably dies afterward. To see full growth and more blooming rose buds, you'll need to cut off the dead bloom. The trick to deadheading a rose is to cut far enough down from the dead rose bloom that you'll promote a lot of growth, so you can have a fully blooming rose.

Things You'll Need

• Gardening gloves
• Pruning shears

Instructions

1. Put on your gloves and identify the rose bloom you want to cut.

2. Find the closest three leaf set below the rose blooms, if you're deadheading a rose bloom in spring. If you're deadheading a rose bloom later in the year, then look for the closest five leaf sets. Roses come with three, five and seven leaf sets on the stem. Three sets are commonly found in the spring, while five are commonly found later in the year.

3. Cut at a 45-degree angle about one fourth of an inch above the three or five leaf set by using the pruning shears.

Tips & Warnings

• If you live in an area where cane borrowers are located, seal the cut on the stem by applying nail polish or glue.

References

• American Rose Society: Cutting or Deadheading Roses