If I am not going to be collecting seeds, is it beneficial to the plant to remove dead flower pods?

Lance

lancemedric said: If I am not going to be collecting seeds, is it beneficial to the plant to remove dead flower pods?
Lance

And...I'm answering your post a year late!

I think in a lot of cases, this is up to the grower and the size of the plant.

I have no scientific proof for this assertion, but I BELIEVE deadheading allows the plant to put its energy into making more blooms vs making seed pods. (In my case, it's "liveheading" because I hate how slimy the flowers are the next day.)

What I meant by the grower preference is that some less anal-retentive growers may not be bothered by past blooms...or they may be hybridizing or growing plants from non-hybrid plants' seeds.

As for plant size, I mean sometimes deadheading just isn't viable. When my white Texas Star swamp hibiscus grew to 13' tall, I was able to bend the stem back to the ground, albeit 13' from the base. I wouldn't try that with less spry varieties, though.

I'll leave you with this random note...a botanical garden one town east of me has (had?) a Hibiscus paramutabilis "Shanghai Pink." It was easily 8' wide and 10' tall. Ain't nobody deadheading that. 😉

Deadheading immediately after blooms go over does free up energy the plant will redirect to other energy sinks less demanding than the plant's reproductive parts.

Trees and herbaceous plants prioritize their parts, but perhaps it's better to say that the strength of energy sinks has a distinct order: Energy is first allocated to respiratory function, i.e. to maintenance of currently viable tissues, then, to production of fine roots, followed by flower and seed/fruit production, then primary growth (extension of both roots and shoots), then secondary growth (thickening), and finally, the synthesis of defensive chemicals. So deadheading can free up energy for additional primary and secondary growth as well as the plants ability to synthesize defensive chemicals.

This can easily be seen in plants like peach and citrus by observing the frequently chlorotic foliage on branches bearing fruit, with leaf color returning to normal after removal of the fruits.

Al