There’s something quite special about the onset of spring when your roses start to display their lush new growth and you see those flower buds forming. As the flowers begin to open, your garden comes alive with righteous color, and this carries on into your home as you cut those pretty blooms to fill your vases. To keep this outstanding display of colorful flowers going right through the season, there’s one mistake you want to avoid when deadheading those prized roses. Apart from knowing how and when to deadhead roses, there’s actually a right and wrong way to make the cuts that no one tells you about. It’s all about cutting the stems in the correct place and at the correct angle.

When deadheading, you always need to cut the stem down to an emerging bud, as this will then grow into a new flowering branch. Many people make the mistake of just snipping off the spent bud, but this will not result in new growth, and you’ll end up with unsightly dieback. You also want to avoid making a straight cut because, unless you angle the cut the right way, you’re also going to end up with that dieback. These are some of the serious mistakes to avoid if you want long-lasting roses in the garden. Luckily, there’s a simple trick you can use to determine the correct place to cut the stems and how to angle the cut so your rosebush will reward you with plenty of future blooms.

When it’s time to deadhead those spent blooms, you want to slow down and do it right. So, instead of just snipping off that old bud, follow the stem down until you find the first leaf that has a set of five leaflets. Take a closer look at the union where the leaf meets the stem, and you should see a tiny bud just waiting to grow into a new flowering branch. Just above this bud is where you want to make the cut. 

For the best results, you want the cut to be at a 45-degree angle, and even this needs a little precision, because you need to angle the cut in such a way that it points downward away from the emerging bud. Try and cut as close to the bud as you can, about a ¼ of an inch above it, to ensure there’s very little section of stem left to dieback. This method is the perfect way to deadhead established roses, but if you have a young plant in its first season of growth, you want to make the cut down to the closest three-leaflet leaf so you’re not removing too much of the foliage, which might restrict the plant’s ability to photosynthesize and continue to grow. Finally, if you’re a little intimidated by this precision, there are gorgeous rose varieties that require no pruning or deadheading, such as the ‘Grace N’ Grit’ rose by Monrovia.