Translations:Manfred Klett: Von der Agrartechnologie zur Landbaukunst/1465/en

The right moment for picking — this holds for Central Europe — is a sunny day in April. The flower heads have opened in the early morning hours, blooming row by row from the outer edge inward, spreading their ray-florets radially outward. By around ten o'clock in the morning a stage is ordinarily reached where a small cluster of florets still stands gathered at the centre of the flower head. In the brief window of approximately one hour before full bloom sets in, the flowers must be picked from their hollow stems and spread out to dry, or pre-dried with warm air. Picking in the afternoon, at full bloom, or during the advanced flowering season should be avoided, on account of the danger of premature transition to pappus or seed formation.

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