Bitterness and Flowering Stage

Question: If I cut off all the flowers, will the leaves stop being bitter?
Answer: No. The flowering stage is the time when a plant ‘s life cycle is changed to move it’s sugars to the flowers in order to reproduce. The concentration of sugars being relocated to the flowers is what causes the bitterness in the leaves. Removing the flowers won’t stop the plant from attempting to make more., instead flower removal will stop the plant from sending it’s sugars to the removed flowers and will cause the plant to attempt to produce new stems, leaves, and thus flowers. The best time to harvest leaves that aren’t bitter are during the seasonal months when the plant is not about to flower, developing flower buds, nor blooming.