I had a lot of heather that was blooming well into the fall. The Irish Heath flowers were dead by Oct/Nov so I pruned back the dead flower spikes. Some other heather, with sterile flowers which don't drop, was still bright and the flowers seemed alive so I did not prune it in early winter, left it for spring. By now (mid-February) I see that all the flowers on the spikes are dead, but also, fresh buds have been growing at the tips of the old flower spikes. Have I left it too late to prune these back? I wonder if by cutting off the spikes I will destroy this year's flower growth.
Just to follow up on my own question: I was able to pose the question to Brian Minter, who labeled the new spikes as "winter bloom" and said it was OK to cut them off. I did, and so far the new growth on the plants is encouraging - think it will be summer bloom when it matures.
