Deadheading Daffs?

[Capsid]

The stem doesn't photosynthesise though, so it isn't needed like the leaves are

What is the green colour then in the stem of a daffodil?

[veggiechicken]

Think about it this way, if you cut all your daffs for the house, the stems would be removed anyway, and this would not mean the end of the bulb, it would still grow again next year.

[Capsid]

Think about it this way, if you cut all your daffs for the house, the stems would be removed anyway, and this would not mean the end of the bulb, it would still grow again next year.

But would it be better if you didn't pick the stems?

[veggiechicken]

I'm not a botanist/biologist or whatever so I don't know the answer.
The structure of a daff stem is hollow and full of sap and, in my simplistic mind, it is drawing up "food" to feed the flower, which then becomes a seed head. The leaf is quite different, it feeds the bulb.
I'm sure this is just me talking a load of twaddle but its the way I get my head around it!!

[Capsid]

I'm not a botanist/biologist or whatever so I don't know the answer.
The structure of a daff stem is hollow and full of sap and, in my simplistic mind, it is drawing up "food" to feed the flower, which then becomes a seed head. The leaf is quite different, it feeds the bulb.
I'm sure this is just me talking a load of twaddle but its the way I get my head around it!!

You are correct, except that a daffodil flower stem is green and contains chlorophyll so it can photosynthesise and feed the bulb/plant. Given that the stem is about as wide as a leaf of a daffodil, I'd argue that its contribution to photosynthesis is not insignificant.

[veggiechicken]

Whatever you say, Mark, I know nothing, but I'm still going to cut mine off at the base (when I get round to it!)

[Capsid]

Whatever you say, Mark, I know nothing, but I'm still going to cut mine off at the base (when I get round to it!)

As you say, they'll grow next year.

[Two_Sheds]

a ... stem is green and contains chlorophyll so it can photosynthesise and feed the bulb/plant ...I'd argue that its contribution to photosynthesis is not insignificant.

I'm not a botanist, so I'm just relying on what the web tells me. All I've found so far is that some desert (succulent) plants are capable of stem photosynthesis

I'm happy to be proved wrong though

[rustylady]

I HAD TO DO IT!!! Just been out and counted the leaves on my daffodils. Four or six per bulb - therefore the stalk is one fifth or one seventh of the photosynthesis capability of the plant. However, this may not be entirely accurate as the leaves are flat and broader than the stem so I would think that the surface area of the stem is less than that of a leaf. Over to you ....................

[Capsid]

I HAD TO DO IT!!! Just been out and counted the leaves on my daffodils. Four or six per bulb - therefore the stalk is one fifth or one seventh of the photosynthesis capability of the plant. However, this may not be entirely accurate as the leaves are flat and broader than the stem so I would think that the surface area of the stem is less than that of a leaf. Over to you ....................

Is it always one flower per bulb?

[veggiechicken]

Without digging them all up to check, I think it is, certainly on the larger daffs. Then the bulb divides and another daff can form from it - making a clump of daffs eventually.

[Two_Sheds]

Is it always one flower per bulb?

That depends on the variety. My Thalia have 2 or 3 flowers per bulb

[mothhawk]

I think the best way to dead-head daffs was described by Harry Dodson (Victorian Kitchen Garden). Take one small boy, hand him a long whippy stick, and give him carte blanche in the daff bed to pretend he's a swashbuckling pirate!