Deadheading Marigolds – Keep Flowers Blooming Long Into Fall

If you want to keep your marigolds blooming strong all summer long and deep into the fall months, then you need to be deadheading them. This simple task can make a huge difference in not only how the plants look but also in their ability to stay healthy and continue blooming.

Marigolds are one of the best flowers to grow in your garden and around your property. They are excellent for drawing in pollinators while helping to protect plants like tomatoes from some devastating pests and insects.

And let’s not forget that their blooms are stunning! They add a bright pop of color wherever they are planted in your garden, flowerbeds, or even containers.

These flowering annuals produce multiple blooms in fiery colors like red, orange, yellow, and white. Marigolds will continue to push out these blooms down to temperatures of about 40º Fahrenheit. As many summer-blooming flowers start to fade, marigolds can still keep the flowers going strong long into fall.

However, one of the best ways to keep them blooming is by deadheading. This is the process of removing the dying or fading blooms so the plant can focus its energy on creating new blooms.

Why Deadheading Marigolds Is Important And How To Do It

Why Is It Important

There are actually a few reasons to deadhead marigolds. First, it’s a great way to keep plants looking tidy. As the blooms start to fade, they turn a dark brown color and start to droop from the plants. This can take away from their overall full and lush appearance.

Another reason to deadhead marigolds is so you can save their seeds to plant again next year. I wrote another article all about saving marigold seeds that you can read about here: “How To Save Marigold Seeds – Easily Harvest Seeds For Spring.”

It’s a simple process that allows you to keep your favorite marigold varieties around year after year. In addition, it’s a great way to save money too! (And who couldn’t use a little money savings tips nowadays!)

Preventing Seed Heads

The last main reason for deadheading marigolds is to allow the plant to save its energy and resources to produce new blooms. Even though the blooms are fading, the plant will still continue to try to send energy to save the bloom. Not only that, but it will use up energy to turn the blooms into mature seed heads.

Deadheading is important not just for marigolds, but for a lot of other popular flowering annuals. Zinnias are a perfect example of a cut-and-come-again flower. The more you deadhead or cut the blooms, the more blooms the plant can create. Petunias are another perfect example of a plant that performs best when it is deadheaded frequently.

Ok, now that you know why deadheading is important, let’s take a look at just how simple it is to do.

Tips On Deadheading Marigolds

First, you want to deadhead the blooms as soon as they start to fade. The longer they are on the plant, the more energy is being used to turn the blooms into seed heads.

Since marigolds produce blooms all summer long and up until the first front, you will need to deadhead every week or so. It’s a quick chore that really doesn’t even require any special tools or equipment. In fact, I slightly enjoy the satisfying “snap” that the plants made as you deadhead!

Identify any blooms that are starting to wilt, droop, or the petals are turning brown. This all indicates that the blooms have reached their peak and are on their way out.

Reach right behind the seed head and snap the fading bloom off. If you prefer to use a pair of pruners or snips, by all means, go that route!

These are my absolute favorite tiny pruners for tackling jobs like deadheading marigolds and other flowers – Product Link: Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips. Other pruners like I was using in the above photo can get really clunky and hard to use with tiny marigold stems, but they still work fine.

The blooms do have a strong odor to them that will transfer to your hands if you don’t wear gloves. A simple handwashing after the chore though will take care of the smell right away though.

I prefer to use my hands just because it is easier and quicker to do. I just make a point to check the marigolds about once a week as I walk the garden rows to look for pests, diseases, or vegetables that I can harvest.

What To Do With The Blooms

While it might be tempting, do not toss the deadheaded blooms into your compost pile. Each one of those faded blooms is packed full of tiny seeds. Since most home compost piles don’t get hot enough to kill off seeds, you will likely end up with tons of volunteer marigolds wherever you go to use the finished compost next year.

Instead, you can either toss the marigolds into a separate pile that you won’t use for your garden or put them in the trash. I have a spot near my compost in the timber where I toss the seedheads and other plant debris I don’t want in my finished compost.

Another alternative is to save the marigold seedheads. If you have open-pollinated varieties, you can save the seeds from these faded blooms to grow the same exact variety of marigolds again next year. You’ll be amazed at just how many seeds you can get from just a few spent blooms!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea

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