My plant has bloomed- Now what?

[Cecile1]

I have a single A. ulvaceus plant, that I grew from a bulb. It has sprouted 3 long stems with what I would as an uneducated plant person call "where the flower sprouts". I have herd others say that if you don't clip them off, the plant will die afterwards?

Any advice? I can post a pick if needed.

[DrNic]

A picture would help if possible.

Are there leaves and stems or just stems?

[smaug]

Yup,that's the flower. It will send up quite a few of them once it start. The plant will last longer if they are clipped off shortly after showing themselves. They are really simple little flowers and add little to the beauty of the plant. It won't die if you let them grow however.

[Trillianne]

The general rule of thumb with most earth plants is that a plant will spend a majority of its energy on flowering if they have produced a flower as that is one main way plants reproduce. So, if you want the plant to spend more time spreading roots or reblooming, you remove the flower.

You may hear gardeners speaking of "deadheading" flowers. That is where when flowers start to show deterioration and like they are starting to die... they pluck the wilty ones to get the plant to produce new flowers. (Not all plants will bloom multiple times in a season, in which case it just makes your plants look nice and encourages them to start focusing on root and leaf growth)

I would assume the same is true for most aquatic plants as well.