i planted them 20 years ago ... and there are still a few around .. reseeding every year ... especially since my mulch went away ... the seed does need soil contact.. so i you have good mulch ... you may never see them ... and the babe seedlings are pretty odd looking .... and unless you are thinking about them.. you might destroy them all before you realize what they are ... plus .. and this might be key.. i think of them as warm soil plants ... which mean they sprout very late ... by which time.. you may have already buried them in that fresh mulch you put down because you just couldnt stand another day stuck in the house since winter ended ... seed pod vs flower bud.. who knows without a pic ... or.. compare yourself on an images page ... perhaps you will know.. if they start drying and turning brown https://duckduckgo.com/?q=portulaca+seed+pods&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images change the search term to flower buds ... ken

Clematis mystery...Last year what I think was Comtesse de Bruchard(sorry about the wrong spelling)developed some problems, which I assummed was clematis wilt. I started to digging it out and though I was digging to China! I have a new clematis that I purchased this spring adn it is marked as H. F. Young. It has had a slow start but this week presented me with a purple bloom. I had wanted the dark purple like jackamani but this is Group 2..about 2 ft. from where I had dug up the other clematis, a new one has started and I've put bird netting on the downspout and it has presented me with a bloom but it is not like what I dug up. I had a Westerplatte planted further away but in same flowerbed that I dug up because it didn't perform well, and I know the color of that one but it is not the mystery clematis. I need to get my camera out and take some pictures. Hadn't used it in a year, better check the batteries! the mystery clematis bloom looks like it is be a faint pink color but small flower with veins that look like they are on the bloom. Wierd, I know.

Whether to deadhead or not is a personal decision. Many find the seed heads to be very attractive and leave them on until they mature and drop in the fall. Keep in mind that producing both flowers and seeds requires resources and can drain the energy of the plant. Well-established and well-fed plants produce both of these with ease. However, it is probably best to deadhead young vines to help them get established faster. With some of the more vigorous varieties such as Terniflora (AKA Sweet Autumn Clematis), montanas, or most species, deadheading is not required. If you deadhead the early-blooming, large-flowered Group Two cultivars you will usually get a sparse second blooming and more growth. If you intend to grow new cultivars or species from seed, let your best performing vines hold their seed heads until they have matured. It is up to you and what your aim/goal is.

most plants.. will not rebloom.. if allowed to go to seed .. so off with their heads ... if wonder if that is true for sterile plants.. that flower.. anyone??? ken ps: besides.. who want to look at the old rotting flowers .. so another reason to snip away ...