Senetti are a beautiful perennial shrub that will be absolutely covered in flowers in the mild weather of spring, winter and fall. Deadheading is essential to make sure you have a continuous covering of flowers on your senetti. These flowers last for 2-3 weeks can be pruned and will bounce back in another 3 weeks.
Senetti are a bright, showy plant that is fantastic as a gift for a friend or a feature in your own yard. Here are my tips for deadheading senetti and easy pruning tips for tons of flowers.
When to deadhead senetti for lots of flowers
Here is my guide to the best times to deadhead senetti at home for more flowers.
Spring & Fall
Senetti will grow a huge coverage of flowers with even up to 100 individual flowers covering a small bush. Deadheading senetti after the first flush of flowers will refresh the bush and allow it replace the flowers. Trim the flowers down to the leaf level and water the plant well.
The shrub will grow back the same amount of flowers after 3-4 weeks. Feed the plant with liquid nitrogen fertilizer straight after pruning. Spring and fall will be the key times that senetti are growing flowers so they may need pruning 1-2 times during these seasons.
Prune after flowers have finished
After the flowers have finished they will flop over and start to shrivel up. You can see the flowers start to bend and they can be pruned off anytime after this happens. The quicker you do this the quicker the plant will replace them with new ones.
I have found that senetti plants grow in in the perfect conditions of morning sun, afternoons shade and regular water will actually have flowers that last longer. I had planted two senetti and one still has the same coverage of flowers and the other was ready for deadheading sooner.
The senetti plant will recover from transplanting if the old flowers are removed. The plant will then put more energy into root growth and prepare for growing more flowers.
How to prune senetti flowers
Senetti are easy to prune and there are only 3 steps to do this successfully. Here is my easy guide to successfully deadhead senetti to encourage new growth.
1. Wait for the flowers to droop
You will know that senetti are ready to deadhead when the flowers droop over and start to curl up. This means that the flowers have finished and the plant is preparing to set seed. It is best to prune off flowers once they droop so the plant places its energy back into growing roots, stems and new flowers.
2. Use sharp secateurs
To deadhead a senetti where most of the flowers have drooped it is easy to use secateurs or even hedge shears. Very often senetti flowers will all finish and droop at the same time. This means you can take the top 3-4 inches of the flowers and stems off in one go.
This will refresh the plant and it will send up new flower heads for a big display in 3-4 weeks.
You can also deadhead senetti plants by pinching off individual flowers with your fingers or snip them with secateurs or scissors. This will keep the plant neat and make room for new flowers.
3. Water and fertilize
After a senetti has been deadheaded, they will benefit from water and fertilizer. Deep water the plant and add a dash of liquid nitrogen fertilizer and seaweed solution.
Repeat every 4 weeks to feed the plant. Senetti need a lot of nutrients to keep producing the large displays of flowers over the mild seasons. Add a handful of pelleted chicken manure in spring to give them longer lasting nutrients to complement the liquid fertilizer.
I like to use an organic liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion but any nitrogen based organic liquid fertilizer will work.
Will senetti rebloom?
Senetti will rebloom after around 3-4 weeks after they have been deadheaded. If this is done in spring you can see flowers even quicker. Senetti will usually take a break from flowering in the hot weather but when the weather becomes mild again in fall they will send up new flowers.
Keep the plant well-watered over the hot weather and protect it from the afternoon sun.
How do you prune Senetti flowers?
Senetti flowers can be pruned by trimming off the stems 3-4 inches down from the flower heads. When the flower heads droop and shrive up, trim them off with clean, sharp secateurs or hedge shears. Get rid of the flowers and place them in your compost.
Don’t worry if you trim off any flowers that are yet to bloom. It can be easier just to remove them all and wait for a whole new display. If you have the time, you can also individually pinch off the flower heads as they droop.
This will keep your flower display bright for longer. By the time the heat of summer arrives you plant will likely need a full trim.
When to deadhead Senetti | Summary
Senetti can be deadheaded or the old flower heads removed when the flowers shrivel up and droop. Trim off individual flower heads with scissors or secateurs or trim the whole top off the senetti to replace the whole display.
Senetti are fast growers so can replace their flower coverage within 3-4 weeks. My senetti has had the same coverage of flower for 3 weeks and it still looks amazing. I am removing individual flowers on one of my senetti to see how long I can keep the display going.
Senetti are becoming one of my favorite feature plants for spring. Try one at home for something new.
Happy growing.
I am an accredited practicing dietitian, experienced gardener and a dedicated cook. I love writing and sharing my experience so you can learn from my successes and mistakes.