UNITED STATES—Deadheading, or the removal of deteriorating bloom, is contrary to the purpose of bloom. It conserves resources for subsequent bloom or vegetative growth. It neatens associated vegetation. Deadheading is certainly justifiable. However, it eliminates most seed before it can develop. Seed is the priority of bloom. Gathering seed can be a good compromise.
Techniques for gathering seed are as variable as bloom and subsequent seed. For some popular annuals and perennials, it is as simple as deadheading. Their seed develops as fast as their bloom deteriorates. Seed is easy to shake from dried stems of rose campion, campanula and columbine. Cut stalks of lily of the Nile must dry for their seed to mature.
Gathering seed from vegetable fruits can be a bit more complicated. Some are mature as soon as their containing fruits ripen. For example, seed from ripe Chile peppers are ready for drying and storing immediately. However, zucchini must mature too much to be edible for its seed to finish developing. Furthermore, squash seed is likely to not be true to type.
Gathering seed gets interesting with questionable lineage and breeding.
This is often a consequence of cross pollination from other varieties of the same species. Progeny of very different parents inherit genetic qualities of both parents. Similarly, many extensively bred varieties exhibit reversion. Their progeny can be more similar to distant ancestors than direct parents. Reversion may be progressive through a few generations.
Reversion is less likely among hybrids only because most hybrids are sterile. Gathering seed from them is generally either futile or impossible. Some hybrid canna develop seed capsules that contain no viable seed. Seedlessness is an advantage of seedless hybrid watermelon. Viable seed of the few hybrids that could produce it is wildly unpredictable.
Most mutations, such as variegation or dwarfism, are not inheritable. Seed of variegated Kaffir lily therefore grows into unvariegated specimens. Some seedlings mature through a juvenile phase prior to bloom. This is why avocado seedlings grow so lean without fruit in their first few years. Ultimately, gathering seed is most practical for simple wildflowers, annuals, perennials and some vegetables.
Highlight: Windmill Palm
Palms take commitment. Some of the most popular grow too big for their situations. Most grow so tall that only arborists can maintain them. None are conducive to pruning to limit their natural height. Individual palm trunks rely on their single terminal buds, which grow only upward. Diversion is not an option for any palm that encroach into electrical cables.
Windmill palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, is one of the more complaisant of palms. It cannot grow around utility cables, but otherwise does not grow obtrusively big. Young trees can grow fast to 15 feet tall, but then grow slowly to double their height. Only a few elderly trees grow as tall as 40 feet. Their foliar canopies are generally less than 10 feet wide.
Trunks of windmill palms are distinctively shaggy. Pruning dead fronds as closely to their trunk as possible promotes a neater appearance. Because growth decelerates with age, trunk shag is typically wider higher up. Trunks are about half a foot wide, but seem twice as wide since they are so shaggy. Gathering seed from pollinated female trees is simple.
Tony Tomeo can be contacted at tonytomeo.com.
