About Deadheading Gardenias
Gardenias are flowering evergreen shrubs hardy in zones 7 to 11. Their long lasting, fragrant white flowers bloom from late spring to fall. Each bloom can last several weeks before wilting. The wilted flowers then form into orange seed pods. Removing spent blooms on gardenia will prevent the plant from wasting energy producing these seed pods and put that energy into creating new blooms instead. Deadheading gardenias will also keep the plant looking nicer throughout the growing season.
How to Deadhead a Gardenia Bush
When to deadhead gardenia flowers is right after the blooms fade and begin to wilt. This can be done anytime throughout the blooming season. With clean, sharp pruners, cut off the entire spent bloom just above a leaf set so you are not leaving odd-looking bare stems. Deadheading like this will also promote the stems to branch out, creating a thicker, fuller shrub. Stop deadheading gardenias in late summer to early fall. At this point, you can leave the spent flowers on the shrub to form the orange seed pods that will provide winter interest. These seeds also provide food for birds in fall and winter. You can also prune back your gardenia bush in fall to keep it compact or promote denser growth the following year. Do not prune back gardenias in spring, as this may cut off newly forming flower buds.
