I have quite a few aquilegias and they all have lots of blooms. Last year (when they were smaller plants) I spent hours patiently dead heading all of them in the hope of a prolonged flowering period. It didn't work.
Then I read somewhere that they are not repeat flowerers - so this year I am saving myself the effort and just enjoying the flowers as they are. I will cut the flowering stems and a lot of the foliage back immediately after flowering - fresh green growth soon appears and is an asset in the garden.
A friend, however, swears that dead heading does prolong flowering.
Maybe it varies with the type of aquilegia. Mine are all Nora Barlow varieties. Hers tend to be the Mckenna (?) hybrid types.
Last edited: 05 June 2016 17:41:20
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Could well be Topbird. Most of mine are McKana hybrids (or my own hybrids from those and Caerulea) and they sprout new tiny flowerbuds at joints on the existing main spike when I dead-head them.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Posts
Hi Lou. Yes it will. It will stimulate the plant into producing more side shoots carrying more flowers.
No. I find that once the flowering shoot has gone up from the basal rosette of leaves, it makes no difference. They are not repeat flowerers.
I've found that removing any developing seed pods does make the existing spike produce some extra (often smaller) flowers.
That's what I was wondering, if they repeat flowered. I shall leave them to self seed in that case as I have some lovely varieties. Thank you.
I think if you dead head,the plant is stronger for next year, but I save seed off of a lot of mine, so I only cut down the ones I dont want to seed.
Yes I am too heavy on the blue ones, I prefer the pink double flowers so I'll cur back the blue. Thanks.
I have quite a few aquilegias and they all have lots of blooms. Last year (when they were smaller plants) I spent hours patiently dead heading all of them in the hope of a prolonged flowering period. It didn't work.
Then I read somewhere that they are not repeat flowerers - so this year I am saving myself the effort and just enjoying the flowers as they are. I will cut the flowering stems and a lot of the foliage back immediately after flowering - fresh green growth soon appears and is an asset in the garden.
A friend, however, swears that dead heading does prolong flowering.
Maybe it varies with the type of aquilegia. Mine are all Nora Barlow varieties. Hers tend to be the Mckenna (?) hybrid types.
Last edited: 05 June 2016 17:41:20
Could well be Topbird. Most of mine are McKana hybrids (or my own hybrids from those and Caerulea) and they sprout new tiny flowerbuds at joints on the existing main spike when I dead-head them.
I never dead head anything
In the sticks near Peterborough
Aquilegia, but which one? I just have the standard purple & pink ones but this is such a beautiful flower - seen in an open garden today.
Last edited: 05 June 2016 20:18:50