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Bluebell seed heads.

West Somerset, England

A visitor to my garden on Thursday asked in surprise - 'Don't you deadhead your Bluebells'? Well it hadn't even crossed my mind to do so - does anyone do this, or do you leave them as I do??


On plant Hyacinthoides


Answers

 

No one dead heads them in the woodlands!! it sounds a waste of time to me especially as when they are over one is glad to get the leaves off to make room for Summer flowers, that's if deadheading means they will go on flowering for a longer period which I dont think is the case.

6 Jun, 2009

 

Depends if they are english bluebells or spanish - if spanish, yes to stop them spreading even further than they already do.

6 Jun, 2009

 

Maybe that's what she meant...but I like them! I don't mind if they spread. I usually wait until the stems pull out with no resistance and clear out the dead leaves. Nobody else said anything about them...

I have Spanish ones in one part of the garden and English in another. I know they may hybridise in the garden, but I'm not too bothered as there aren't any bluebell woods within miles!

6 Jun, 2009

 

I pull off the flowering stalks, but only because they're in small gardens and make it look untidy - in a large space, I'd leave them.

6 Jun, 2009

 

Thanks. I think I'll just leave them. :-)

6 Jun, 2009

 

I left my Spanish bluebells for several years but now find I have too many of them all over the place so I try to get round to deadheading them now

6 Jun, 2009

 

i dead head sometimes to speed up the foliage die back. sometimes i leave them alone, depends on how much time i have. a bit like deadheading daffs. Fancy commenting on it though.

6 Jun, 2009

 

Oh, I had some very odd questions, too....

6 Jun, 2009

 

Please tell us about them when you write your blog - will give us a laugh, I'm sure.

7 Jun, 2009

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