Should I be removing seed pods from my plants?

12 years ago

I have a few plants that make seed pods after blooming. Butterfly weed, daylily, false indigo, another type of lily (maybe asiatic?) and rose of sharon. I have a swamp mallow/rose mallow also but don't know if they make seed pods (just planted it in August). I thought I read that you should cut off the seed pods when they appear so that they make more flowers next year. Is this true of all plants that make pods like this or just certain ones? Thank you.

Gale

Featured Answer

spedigrees z4VT

6 years ago

I want all my plants to multiply and prosper, so I leave the seed heads on perennials. (I welcome seedlings!) Sometimes I help them to scatter their seeds in places where I'd like to see them spread. In the case of annuals, I save seeds, bring them indoors to dry, and then package them up for next year's garden.

Dead heading refers to pulling off the dying blossoms (not the seed pods) and this causes a plant to continue to bloom.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
12 years ago
Unless I plan on saving the seed, I remove seedpods. I would like the plant to put the energy into more root development. Next years bloom will be better on a stronger plant. Al
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
12 years ago
I thought I read that you should cut off the seed pods when they appear so that they make more flowers next year. Removing seed pods is called deadheading. This is usually done right after the flowers turn brown so the plant is encouraged to make more flowers this year. This works better on annuals than perennials. Another reason to remove seeds is so that you don't have to pull the sprouts from all of those seeds next year.

Is this true of all plants that make pods like this or just certain ones? While it's always a good idea to remove seeds you don't want sprouting next year, perennial plants are designed to make flowers and seeds every year, regardless of what their keeper does to them.

Some flower seeds have a reputation for being good for attracting various birds and gardeners will choose to leave these seeds on the plants sometimes for that reason but none of the plants you listed are ones I would consider to be in this category.
Related Discussions
How should I kill my lawn to plant seeds in the fall...
Q
Comments (4)
i haven't tried it but it sounds pretty good and it won't kill everything for good i don't think!! LOL Mix 1 gallon white vinegar, 1 cup table salt, and 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid together and spray on weeds. To do so, remove approximately 2 cups of vinegar from the jug, pour in the salt and dishwashing liquid, then return the 2 cups of vinegar to the jug. Close the lid and shake to mix. Transfer to a spray bottle (after shaking to mix the ingredients) as needed. It works as well, if not better, than Chemicals, but is much cheaper. Be careful, it will kill whatever you spray it on! If you go purchase vinegar, 10% acidity, 20% acid would be better, and spray it on the weeds in the heat of the full sun, you will have an effective weed killer. or Here's a homade weed killer if you want to avoid harsh chemicals. 1 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp. of baby shampoo 1 tbsp. of gin, or listerine mouthwash 1 qt. of warm water Mix all ingredients in a bucket, and pour into a hand held sprayer. Drench each weed to the point of run-off, taking care not to get any spray on surrounding plants
...See More
Should I remove a huge thorny limb from my grapefruit tree?
Q
Comments (7)
Lily, can you provide a photo of where this wickedly thorny branch is emanating from? The front normal branch is obscuring where the thorny branch is coming from. We are all thinking that you've possibly got a (massive) rootstock sucker, but we can't tell unless you can give us a photo of where this branch starts exactly. If it is emanating from below the graft union, it is rootstock, and should be removed. Patty S.
...See More
Should I Dead-Head Seed Pods
Q
Comments (1)
I don't do much deadheading on mine...too many of them, and too many weeds to pull :) However, if some of the blooms get particularly nasty looking, I cut them off, just for the sake of appearance. I've not noticed that leaving the seed pods in place has had any ill effect on next year's bloom, or the growth of the plant.
...See More
Should I seed my compost heaps from my worm bin?
Q
Comments (17)
I think redwormcomposting dot Com did an experiment like that. I kinda did also. I got tired of screwing around with worms, and dumped them into a 5x10 x 2 feet deep bed I dug. Did the whole filling it with cardboard, leaves, horse manure and whatever else I could find before adding the worms over a 2x5 foot section on one end. These were EF and european nightcrawlers. They have taken over the whole bed, as are a variety of squash and melon that grew from the worm bins. I don't know how to precisely quantify "better" than anything else, but there are a lot more worms than I had before and a lot of crops in that same bed.
...See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
hi

you remove flowers immediately after the flowers fade .. so they will rebloom THE SAME YEAR .... it has nothing to do with next year ...

like peeps.. a plant has ONLY ONE goal in life.. procreation.. furthering of the gene pool.. they all make seed ...

the issue is which seed will winter over in your zone .. not many do in z5 ... as the native range of many of our perennials are much further south ... vermin.. birds.. etc ...

one of the biggest nightmare seeders in my garden was a mallow.. no clue which one.. by the third year.. i had about a billion of them.. and 5 years after killing them all.. i am still getting seedlings ..

daylily .. not only makes seed .. but multiplies by rhizome dividing... the rhizomes are the same flower .. seeds.. with genes and dna and all.. are useless.. in regard to the flower you have... they are snapped off as soon as the flowers fade.. unless you want to play with seed .. we would rather have the energy spent on divisions grown underground.. rather than the seed

good luck

ken
gardenweed_z6a
12 years ago
luvmyfish - you mentioned mostly perennials so it might be worth borrowing a book or two about them from your local library in addition to posting questions here. There are countless books available that will give you information on growing perennials, their habits and needs as well as their bloom season. I started keeping a garden diary when I got serious about perennial gardening and have added/referred to it many times over the past few years.

I leave seedpods on my plants intentionally so I can harvest seeds to winter sow. Winter sowing my own seeds is an economical way of expanding my garden beds with the healthiest plants at the lowest possible cost. Plus it gives me an excuse to have my hands in dirt right through the long cold months. In addition to harvesting seeds to winter sow, I also trade seeds via the Seed Exchange here on GardenWeb.
Sheryl Seyer
6 years ago
I was sick of pulling the seedlings out of the ground under my mature Rose of Sharon, so this year I cut off all the seed pods on the stem. The bush started producing flowers again, which has extended the bloom period substantially . Of course, it also produced seed pods again, so I got twice the bloom for twice the work. If I have the time to do it, its worth it (although we'll see how well I did at eliminating the seedlings in the spring!)

Should I be removing seed pods from my plants?

spedigrees z4VT

Comments (6)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

Related Discussions

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

gardenweed_z6a

Sheryl Seyer

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US