As the growing season winds down across most of the country, gardeners are spending time getting their flowers in order in preparation for the winter. One of the most common practices this time of the year is known in gardening circles as deadheading. This practice involves the removal of dead or faded flowers from a plant. The goal of deadheading is to conserve a plant's energy so that it will produce richer blooms in the spring. Deadheading can also improve the appearance of a fading garden while preventing disease and mildew.

While the practice of deadheading is generally good gardening, some experts warn that there are a few types of flowers that do not benefit. Cutting these plants too soon can actually prevent the flowers from reaching their full potential in the spring. Here is a look at four flowers that gardeners should not deadhead, as well as how you should handle these particular species instead.

Hydrangeas

Everyone loves a full hydrangea plant. While the vast array of colors in the hydrangea family gives you flexibility to design a custom garden, not all of these plants should be cared for in the same way.

For example, Martin Hackney, horticulture expert and managing partner at Hackney Nursery, advises that “newer types like Endless Summer bloom on fresh growth and can be pruned in the fall.” However, Hackney explains that traditional hydrangeas should not be pruned until after the flowering. Knowing the specific type of hydrangea you are growing will help you to make the best decision for that specific plant.

Azaleas

Horticulturists are in agreement that azaleas should not be touched this time of the year. Hackney explains that deadheading azaleas in the fall is not recommended because, "traditional varieties already formed next year’s buds over the summer, and fall pruning removes them.”

Gardener and interior designer Grey Joyner of Grey Joyner Interiors agrees with Hackney about how to approach azaleas in the fall. Joyner said that it is better to pinch or simply cut off the faded blossoms after the spring flowering season. This typically happens by the early summer months. Doing so will redirect the plant's energy into forming new buds. “In fact, many evergreen azaleas don’t need deadheading at all,” says Joyner. “Just give them a light trim right after they bloom to shape the bush, but wait until then (not fall) to tidy them up.”

There is one caveat to the azalea deadheading recommendations. Hackney said the Encore variety of the flower can be pruned at any time of the year.

Foxgloves

Foxgloves are generally either perennials with a short life span or biennials. This means that they flower and then set their seed before going dormant. As such, Joyner said that it is important to let these flowers turn into seed pods so that they are able to repopulate the garden. Deadheading them too soon could disrupt their natural life cycle.

Joyner advises her clients to avoid taking pruners to foxgloves until the seeds have fully developed and ripened. This will encourage the dried flower stalks to lay seed heads that will go on to produce more flowers when the time is right.

“You can cut back the bulk of the spikes after flowering to keep things tidy, but leave a few for seed,” Joyner says. “If you cut all the flower stalks in the fall, you won’t have new plants coming up next season—remove spent foxglove blooms only in early fall after collecting ripe seeds, rather than a hard prune that kills the whole stalk.”

Forsythia

Forsythia plants are spring bloomers that flower on last year’s wood. This means that the plant begins forming what you see next spring by the middle of the summer. Getting out those pruning shears late in the season will disrupt this process and impact next spring's bloom. According to Joyner, “Trimming forsythia too late in summer or in fall and winter will result in a loss of flowers the following year.”

Instead, Joyner recommends pruning forsythia right after it finishes its spring bloom cycle. She explains that “at that point, you can cut back old, crowded stems to ground level, but come autumn, simply leave the shrub alone. By skipping fall deadheading (or any heavy pruning), you ensure your forsythia will be loaded with yellow blossoms come spring.”

While it is tempting to want to cut back these flowers and tidy up the garden heading into the winter, these four plants should be left alone for the best results in the spring.

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