Deadheading Salvia and Gazania: Techniques for Continuous Bloom

Deadheading keeps annuals blooming, but techniques differ. A gardener asked how to deadhead salvia and distinguish spent from new gazania blooms.

Salvia

Cut the entire spent flower spike just below the lowest flower. Scissors make quick work of it. This prompts new spikes from lower nodes.

Gazania

Gazania flowers open in sun, close at night. Fading blooms and new buds look similar. Try this trick:

1. During the day when flowers are open, tie a small twist-tie around stems of currently blooming flowers.
2. In a few days, those marked flowers will fade. Compare them to new, unmarked buds—you'll learn the subtle differences in color, position, and stem texture.
3. Once calibrated, deadhead by snipping off the faded blooms at the base of their individual stems.

Deadhead both plants every 7–14 days for a tidy, floriferous display.