Remove daylily seed heads?

[HH]

Should one remove spent daylily seed heads? How does one tell the difference between a seed head and a flower bud? See

Your advice would be most appreciated.

HH

[JoeSpareBedroom]

The spent flowers are your clue. They usually look shriveled within a day or two after the flower blooms.

[George Shirley]

To start with you get a flower and then it makes the seed head. The flower bud and the seed head look dramatically different IMHO so they're not difficult to differentiate between. Just look closely and you will see the seed head is more angular than the flower bud. HTH

George

[Plant Info]

You don't have to remove the spent flowers -- but if you do, it should include as much as the stem as possible. However, unless you plant to collect the seed, you may as well, as the production of seed takes energy from the plant that could be used towards future growth.

As to the difference between a flower bud and seed head, if you gently squish a flower head between 2 fingers, it will have some give because of the petals inside. On the other hand, if you squish a seed head, it won't have as much "give," unless it's before seed production begins. Flower buds that are about to open are usually longer than seed heads that have started to form. But to be sure, you can leave them all alone until no more flowers are produced, and then cut all the stems back as far to the ground as possible.

Suzy O, Wisconsin, zone 5

[Mindful]

We snip them off. It's our belief the plant will use that energy for a better show next year.