John, I quite agree with this statement. I my experience the plant keeps on growing much longer then those without flowers or those deadheaded. Regards Lauw le 4/05/04 10:28, johngrimshaw a écrit : > Even more tangibly, the > presence on the stem of a fruit is an incentive, controlled by hormones, for > the plant to remain in growth and therefore build up a much bigger bulb for > next year. The 'drain' of photosynthates to the seeds is more than matched > by their accumulation in the bulb and the resultant performance next season. > > John Grimshaw > Lauw de Jager http://www.bulbargence.com/ South of France (zone 8 Olivier)