Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

When do you deadhead Lupins ?

EmerionEmerion Posts: 599
in Plants
Deadheading single-bloom flowers is obvious, but what about flower spikes, like lupins? Do you wait to deadhead lupins until every flower on a stem has been pollinated and gone brown? Or do you get rid when a certain proportion have gone over? I know it’s mostly a matter of whether you like the remaining flowers more than you dislike the brown ones, but does anyone know of a scientific explanation for when the plant will decide that flower stem has been successful, and so start to produce less new flowering stems? I chop and change how I do this every year and I’m not sure which method gives more flowers over the season.
Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.


Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I sometimes rub off the lower flowers on a spike when they start to form pods, but I don't always bother. I cut off the whole spike when the top flowers fade.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    I don't want to take the remaining flowers from bees so I usually wait as long as I can stand looking at it - by that time maybe 5-10% of flowers are still on, some are brown and most are developing pods.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I rub my hand down the the stem and take the pods off as soon as I see them start to form,  then cut off when the last bits gone.
    They'll  keep blooming for much longer. 
    I do the same for foxgloves. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • EmerionEmerion Posts: 599
    The rubbing-off is a good idea, thanks @Lyn and @JennyJ
    Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.


Sign In or Register to comment.