i heard.. from a very big wholesaler.. that by the time you see the scapes... the energy is already spent ...

but if you dont like them ..... besides heresy ... get rid of them if you prefer ...

most scapes are green.. so i suppose one might argue they are photosynthesizing.. and adding energy ... but really... you have to be pretty desperate to rely on that little extra ...

ken

Actually, I'm considering letting a bunch of white centered hostas bloom for the first time. I always cut off the blooms in that bed because I want all of its plants to stay low. The scapes reach too high, and I'm concerned that the bed will look ragged. But this year I'm considering letting them bloom just to see if I like that bed with lavender waving around in the air above everything. I just might.

Those hostas grow fast. I'm wondering if they will grow more slowly if I let them bloom this year. I want to divide them in the spring and spread them out. If they don't enlarge this season, I probably won't be able to do that.

I never cut my blooms. I like the flower and so do the bees! I cut them back after the bloom is spent. I never have found evidence that hostas lose size as a result. Try it and see how it goes. The bees will thank you!! 🐝🐝🐝

I don't care for the look of the flowers but I leave them for the bees ,hummingbirds and the butterflies to feast on

I hate to tell you how old I was before I knew hosta had flowers. Evidently, my mom didn't like the blossoms, so she cut the scapes off when they began to grow, and so I never saw a hosta bloom in her garden. It wasn't until I had a home of my own and Mom gave me some hosta that I saw them bloom. I leave the blossoms so the bees and hummingbirds can feed on them. Then I cut them off when the flowers are spent.

Just so you all know, I normally leave the blooms on. I like how they look.

I'm still wondering if cutting off the scapes when they first appear encourages extra growth of some other body part in their absence. Does anyone here know the mechanics of growth for hostas well enough to say?

I don’t think it encourages new growth in the hosta. Like Ken said, by the time you see the scapes, the energy has already been expended. The plant is designed by nature to put out the scapes. There’s no fooling Mother Nature...... :-)

debra

@djacob Z6a SE WI,

You say "by the time you see the scapes, the energy has already been expended." But it still takes unused-as-yet energy to build the scape and the blossom and the pollen and the seed pod and the seeds in it above the crown. That energy is not going to get expended doing those things if I cut the scape off early when it's short. What is that energy going to be used for now that its intended use is negated? Do you see where I'm coming from here?

IOW the plant may have appropriated that energy for the bloom and seeds, but that energy hasn't yet been spent.