Roses respond well to dead heading

Dead heading is a gardening term that sounds like a very serious business, but it's seen by the majority as a kindly action that encourages flowering plants to hold our attention for an extended period.

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In essence it amounts to removing spent blooms as they fade, causing the plant to produce more.

Roses especially respond to such treatment, so some gardeners simply hold the dead bloom in the palm of the hand and twist it free. Others carefully examine the stem below a spent bloom and make a clean cut with secateurs just above the first or second leaf joint.