Do i remove flowers on bulbs flowering for the first time for me?

[daveyp1970]

do I or don't I remove that's the question,my head is saying yes but my heart is saying no.

[Maggi Young]

While it might be arguable about taking seed off a young bulb, Davey, I cannot see any harm in letting it flower. After all, if a flower is in there  most of the energy to make it has already been spent and if you take the flower stalk off completely you are cutting down onthe green matter of the plant to gather strength and alkso making a wound for disease to enter by. Leave well alone, I say.

[mark smyth]

I used to remove all snowdrop flowers once they were over but I don't anymore

[Lesley Cox]

I agree with Maggi after all the darn thing may die anyway and you'll have missed the flower to a large degree. As well, you may as well go for seed that first time and have more of the same. Flowers are the point of bulbs so why remove them?

[ArnoldT]

We had a healthy debate on this on our PBS forum.  John Grimshaw made a point that removing the flowers causes an early senescense of the plant.  Seed formation is a strong stimulus to keep the plant growing.  He was clear that 'dead heading' was not a good practice.

[daveyp1970]

Cheers everybody leave them i will.

[Maggi Young]

There has always been hot debate about whether seeding "weakens" bulbs but we have always found that a bulb making seed will  keep green for several weeks longer than one not setting seed so that has to be a benefit to the strength of the bulb for the next year.


 Good decision, Davey!