How to Take Care of Foliage & Decorative Flowers

Plant your flowers in the right soil, and cultivate the garden bed every year. Flowers require good nutrition and quick drainage to succeed, so plant them in a mixture of quick-draining soil and organic compost. In the spring, before blooming starts, add 2 to 3 inches of organic compost to established soil to increase the nutrition for the blooms. Add flower-specific fertilizer to encourage growth and blooming.

Mulch the flower bed in the spring to help maintain soil warmth and moisture. Plants put more resources toward their blooms when they're warm. Mulch will also discourage competition from weeds or grasses.

Water the flower garden according to specific flower needs, and never let the soil go completely dry. Plants that don't have enough water lack the resources they need to flower, or to sustain a blooming season.

Deadhead the flowers throughout the blooming season to keep the garden neat, and encourage the plants to re-bloom. Pull off dead or dying blooms, or use pruning shears to cut them off at the base. This keeps the plant from going to seed, which would signal it to go dormant for fall.

Cut off any diseased or dead foliage while the plant is blooming to keep the garden neat, and to allow plants to conserve and redirect resources. Cut the foliage off at the base, so plants can support new growth instead.

Maintain foliage after the bloom with consistent watering and pruning. Cut off dead or diseased foliage when you see it so the plant can put energy into new growth. Watch for common garden pests like ants, mites and aphids, and cut away any infected foliage to restrict the pest population.

Feed garden plants again in mid-summer to maintain blooming and healthy foliage. Use balanced 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 fertilizer at this time, and follow manufacturer directions with regard to quantity and application. Discontinue all feedings in July, as new growth in the fall will die during winter.

Prune foliage back in the fall to protect the plants through winter. Well-protected blooming plants will survive their winter dormancy for bright spring re-blooming. Cut away dead blooms and foliage, and cut all foliage back per plant-specific pruning guidelines. Although all plants can use pruning in fall, incorrect pruning at this time may eliminate future flower blooms or damage the plant.