Sprouting Brocolli

[Marken]

My sprouting brocolli is almost over now. If I leave this in the ground, will it continue to grow and crop again next year? Any thoughts?

[Nature's Babe]

my guess it will seed then die off in the cold, if not an F1 you could save seed.

[alan refail]

Hi Marken

The broccoli is only finished as far as your picking is concerned. It will continue to grow and, as Nature's Babe says, go to seed. After that it will have done it's job as a biennial and is unlikely to keep going as any sort of useful plant.

[Colin_M]

To follow on from Marken's post, I have some white sprouting broccoli that has produced a few flower spears so far this spring. These seem to be becoming less frequent, but the main plants are continuing to grow and have big lush dark green leaves.

Can I expect more flowers, or are they just having a final spurt before they give up for the year. I think I planted them last autumn and that they're one of the few of my brassicas that survived the cold winter.

[Marken]

Hi Alan
I know that brocolli is a biennial, but many biennials will continue to grow and flower if they are happy and well fed. My thinking was that I wouldn't allow them to flower at all, I would cut off all remaining flower buds and feed them well. The plant will therefore not have completed it's life-cycle and will continue growing.
Well, I might just keep a couple of the healthier plants going and see what happens. Perhaps I will continue this post this time next year!

[glallotments]

I guess that the most to benefit from leaving the broccoli in the ground will be the whitefly!

[Nature's Babe]

Old varieties of perennial broccoli are still available, and one outstanding variety of that type is the Nine Star which produces small white, multi-heads. Cropping improves if unused heads are removed before they go to seed. White are not as hardy as the purple type. Any idea what variety you have?

[Mike Vogel]

I experimented by leaving 2 cauliflower plants inthe ground last year instead of digging them up. They survived the winter and have produced what is a cross between mini-culiflowers and hefty white broccoli sprouts. I doubt, though, whether this would happen with sprouting broccoli, but you could always leave a plant or 2 in the ground and see what happens.