"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
Spakker wrote:

I've read on the net that if one cuts off the gunnera flower it will make
larger leaves.

This is true of young, small, newly planted specimens since a
comparatively large amount of energy is expended in the production of
the flower spike. The best way of ensuring rapid growth and really big
leaves (assuming
you can accommodate leaves that are up to 8 or more feet high and over
5 feet across) is to provide masses of moisture throughout the growing
season and mulch heavily with well rotted manure in spring. (snip)
next year's growth is largely determined by the amount of food the
plant manages to accumulate during this year and the better you treat
it now, the better it will be in 2006.

HTH
Dave Poole
Yes, makes sense. The flowers (2 of this year) are maybe 2 feet tall and add
to the attraction of this prehistoric looking plant for me.