To cut or not to cut flowers off? Consequences of each action please.

Answer #1 · Gardenality.com's Answer · Hi Linda,

Chives are quite aggressive re-seeders. If you leave the spent flowers on the plant they will eventually fall to the ground. Re-seeding will take place. You can harvest the seeds by waiting until the flowers have turned brown. Prune just below the flowers/pods to harvest seeds. Chive seeds only last for about one year, so make sure to use them next season.

You can dead head the plant by pruning off the flowers and/or seed pods at any point. This will not hurt the plant.

To harvest the Chives simply cut the entire stalk down to the ground.

Hope this helps you.

Brooks Wilson))

Answer #2 · Gardenality.com's Answer · Leaving the flowers on the plant won't do any harm. In fact, it might do some good for the local bees who love the flowers. You can also eat the flowers. But, as Brooks said, you can cut them off if you want. If you decide to leave them on, when the flowers and stems have died you can remove these to tidy up the plant.

Brent)