Monty Don: How to deadhead plants in April – ‘simple’ but ‘overlooked’ gardening jobMonty Don: How to deadhead plants in April – ‘simple’ but ‘overlooked’ gardening job

Monty Don: How to deadhead plants in April – ‘simple’ but ‘overlooked’ gardening job

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Deadheading is done to keep plants looking attractive and encourage more blooms. The gardening job can be done to a variety of different plants whether in flower beds, borders, containers or hanging baskets. In his latest blog post, Monty Don said it was a “simple” job to get done in April.

Monty wrote: “This is a very simple job but one which is often overlooked.

“To extend the rhododendron and azalea season and ensure that the plant does not waste its energies into seed production, deadhead as many faded flowers as you can.

“This is particularly relevant to large flowered varieties.

“Do not use secateurs as you risk injuring the fragile buds growing at the base of the flowers but gather the flower trusses between finger and thumb and snap them off.”

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“Typically fuchsias, bedding lobelia and salvias either don’t set much seed or neatly deadhead themselves.

“Do not remove the faded flowers on plants that produce seed loved by birds, including Rudbeckia, cornflower and sunflower.”

Monty also recommended planting sweet peas this month.

He wrote: “Sweat peas grow best in rich soil with plenty of moisture and in cool, but not cold, conditions.

“The more you can enrich the soil with lots of compost or manure before planting, the better they will grow. I like to grow mine up bean sticks arranged as a wingman but any support will do from bamboo canes to chicken wire.

“I plant two or three plants to each stick or support and water them in dry well before mulching them thickly to keep them weed-free and to stop them drying out.”



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