where are you ....

i would figure out.. how long it takes seed to mature from bloom ... and then i would deadhead until late enough to get a seed harvest in fall ...

sooo... if it takes a plant a month to mature seed .. i would deadhead thru about august ... and enjoy the flowers ... and then i would let them go to seed in september ... for harvest in october or so ... in my MI ...

it would probably be variable depending on where you are ... and how long your season is ... also of course.. dependent on the plant ... if their bloom period is seasonal .... like a spring only flowering plant ...

i dont think there will be one hard and fast rule ... like you might be hoping ... since you didnt list what plants you are thinking about ...

it might be time for a garden calendar ... for this project ...

ken

As with almost everything having to do with horticulture, it depends :-) Some flowering plants will continue to produce nectar - why hummers will visit fuchsias day after day, stopping at the same flowers they hit the day before - and some won't. And many plants will continue to produce flowers on the same stalk even though older flowers may be depleted of nectar and reaching the seed setting stage. Deadheading in that case is counterproductive.

So I doubt it is reasonable to make any generalizations. It will depend a lot on the plant/flower in question. Hummingbirds are year round residents in my garden and I plant a lot of plants specifically to attract them - salvias, cuphea, hardy fuchsias, monarda, grevillea, some heucheras, etc. I grow none of them for seed production as they are all fully perennial (or can be with winter protection) but I don't deadhead them either. In most cases, the spent flowers just fall off but new ones appear on the same stalk. Once they have completed their bloom cycle, I may cut some of them back.

If you can provide us with what sorts of flowers you may be growing that you have questions about, we might be able to provide more specific info. But it is not possible to give you a firm answer with the just the generalized terms you have described.

I live in South Florida. I don't really grow a plant to collect seed to replant except on dill. I grow zinnias.... but someone posted a picture under one of zenman's growing zinnias of a finch eating the seed I thought I would let it go to seed and see if I got any birds.... sure enough I got a few finches. I noticed they were stealing the seed from my salvias.... I don't collect it, but I do let it go to seed and sprout up where ever it wants..... I never really have had hummingbirds but the other day I noticed one visiting the salvia.... There aren't too many flowers because it is setting seeds, and I was wondering if that flower that the hummer visited would get more nectar.... than of course that made me wonder about the rest of my flowers and how nectar worked in general....

Thanks for your comments.

well ... you sure have a very long growing season ... so if it were me.. i would not be letting them ALL .. go to seed after the first flush ...

so if i had a mass of a certain flower ... lets say 10 plants for a nice round number ... i might lets a couple go to seed ... well deadheading 8 to get a second flush ... then a month later.. letting 2 more .... etc ... and then by fall ... i would be letting them all go to seed/bird food ...

not only do you get a longer flower show.. but you spread the seed bounty over the season.. and perhaps encourage the birdies to hang around your place for the whole season ...

ken