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Globe thistle

Mark-EMark-E Posts: 182
edited August 2021 in Plants
Hi,

We have some globe thistles, some have flowered and some are mid flowering.

The ones that have already flowered, I have dead headed so they don't go to seed.  Will they grow again next year from the same plant? Do I need to cut back to ground?

Some photos below.

Thanks,

Mark



Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 21,910
    Yes they do grow again from the same plant next year.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,140
    Don't cut them down.  The foliage will still be feeding the roots and the top growth can protect the crowns from winter frosts so, unless you're planning to mulch them for winter it's best to cut down after the last of the heavy frosts or the first signs of new shoots showing.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • Mark-EMark-E Posts: 182
    Thanks both,  just to check, they won't flower from this years top growth next year and send up new growth from the base?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,140
    Correct - herbaceous perennials die down over winter and make new growth in spring.

    Some, such as lupins and delphiniums will make secondary flower spikes if you dead head them before they start setting seed but not, in my experience, echinops altho I do usually leave some seed heads on for the birds and because they look good frosted.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • Mark-EMark-E Posts: 182
    Thanks Obelixx, I was thinking about leaving some seed heads on but I didn't want masses of seedlings next year.
  • LynLyn Posts: 21,910
    Mine stay evergreen,  I just cut the flower stalks out.
    I’ve been trying to get rid of some, they spread all over the place, you have a job to even get them out with a pick axe, I think they must be the toughest plant you can get.
    They were the first ever plant I grew from seed,  and although I love then for the bees, they’re terribly untidy. 
    I think they are best grown with other tall plants around them as the leaves get very tatty,  other tall plants will hide that. 


    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Mark-EMark-E Posts: 182
    Only reason I am growing them if for the bees really as they seem to love them.
  • LynLyn Posts: 21,910
    Mark-E said:
    Thanks both,  just to check, they won't flower from this years top growth next year and send up new growth from the base?
    Yes they will flower from the same plant,  you may find some small ones around where the seeds have dropped.  Just cut the dead flower stalk off. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,194
    Yes the bees love them but we also have goldfinches which take the seeds later in the year.
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