There are a few simple steps that every gardener can take to ensure that their flowers keep blooming all through the summer season
There are a few simple steps that every gardener can take to ensure that their flowers keep blooming all through the summer season(Image: sagarmanis via Getty Images)
Summer presents the ideal opportunity to admire your garden at its finest, with a wealth of flowers and plants reaching their peak. While numerous varieties will already be displaying their full glory, some may be beginning to show signs of decline.
Fortunately, there are several straightforward measures every gardener can implement to ensure their flowers continue blooming throughout the entire summer. Gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish has revealed his three-step approach for maintaining a long-lasting floral display.
In a recent video, Ish said: “If you want to keep your flowers going all the way through summer, then there’s three important things that you need to do.”
Don’t pinch off the spent flowers, snip the flowerhead off at the base(Image: Getty)
There are three remarkably simple yet crucial tasks that can invigorate your flowers this season. The first, Ish explained, involves deadheading any faded blooms in your display.
For those unfamiliar with deadheading, this refers to the practice of removing wilted flowers to redirect the plant’s energy away from producing additional sideshoots, instead concentrating on generating more flowers on existing stems. Deadheading will maintain your flowers at their most attractive throughout the season, reports the Express.
Deadheading proves a superior alternative to repeated pruning, particularly when only certain flowers have faded. It represents a swift process that eliminates spent blooms to promote fresh growth while maintaining a neat appearance.
Ish advised that deadheading flowers on a fairly regular basis throughout the summer is essential. While many gardeners opt to simply pinch off spent blooms, Ish instead recommends taking a pair of secateurs to the flowerheads for a clean cut.
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Locate the base of the stem and snip it with secateurs. He said: “That will preserve all of the energy, instead of going to the stem, it will now focus on making a brand new flower. So it’s not wasted.
“Don’t just pick off the top, it doesn’t do much at all.”
It is equally important to ensure your flowers are thoroughly watered, particularly during periods of intense heat. To assist with moisture retention, Ish suggests applying a layer of coir mulch across the top of the soil around the base of each plant.
This helps to stop water from reflecting the sun’s rays and evaporating before it has the opportunity to penetrate the soil. Finally, gardeners should ensure their flowers receive consistent feeding.
Ish’s preferred feeding solution is tomato feed. Rich in vital nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus, tomato feed encourages flowers to grow larger and more vibrant in colour.
He said: “The reason I do is because it’s high in potassium and potash, which most flower feeds are, and they absolutely love it.”
Applying tomato feed every couple of weeks, Ish assures, will produce results that are nothing short of “amazing”.
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