I've noticed a surge of posts in my feed lately asking if they should remove flowers from fruiting plants, especially for vegetables. After spending years growing native plants casually, I've recently transitioned to vegetable gardening, and I'm puzzled by this practice. My understanding was that if a plant is flowering, it knows what it's doing, and I shouldn't interfere. Am I missing some crucial technique related to harvesting vegetables?
3 Answers
It really depends on various factors like the type of plant, where you live, and how much you want to maximize production. For instance, if you have a jalapeño seedling flowering too early in a southern climate, it’s better to remove those flowers and let the plant put more energy into growing healthy leaves. In contrast, if you're in a short-season area and have a bell pepper plant that flowers in May, definitely keep those flowers! Every day counts.
A lot of new gardeners are just trying to learn and find their way, so they ask basic questions like whether to remove flowers. It's how the community grows and shares knowledge. Some folks might garden more carefully and worry about every little detail. For me, I usually leave flowers unless there’s a good reason to remove them, like helping a young fruit bush grow stronger instead of harvesting a few fruits.
You're not really missing anything! Generally, the idea behind removing flowers is rooted in the belief that when a plant focuses on fruiting, it might not be investing enough energy into its roots and foliage. Most of the time, I think doing nothing is the best approach. People can over-fuss with their plants, which sometimes causes more harm than good. I had an experience this year where I had to remove some flowers because my plants got stressed after being planted too early, and they were trying to reproduce fast as a survival tactic. But that's more of a special case, not a usual practice.