daffs and tulips

JuneBow

Bit of a wannabe gardner here, so this question may be really basic.
Planted loads of tulip and daff bulbs last year and they came up lovely. Now the heads have dried off as they are finished. The green leaves now look a bit untidy. What do I do? Do I cut them off now, or do I have to wait until they are brown and shriveled (and even more of a mess)
What can I do?

TonyMMM

You should cut off the dead heads (to stop them using energy making seeds) but leave the leaves growing to allow them to feed the bulb back up so it will flower again next year. Ideally wait until they go brown of their own accord, but if you can't put up with them, leave them for at least 6 weeks after flowering. Then you can cut them off at ground level.

Daffs will come up year after year (and increase) if you do this.

Tulips aren't as long lasting and many people recommend digging them up, storing them and then replanting them in the autumn. Some varieties of tulip in my garden come up every year, some that I have planted have only come up for one or two years.

choille

I twist mine into a knot when they've finished flowering & leave them to rot down.

JuneBow

TonyMMM wrote: »

Tulips aren't as long lasting and many people recommend digging them up, storing them and then replanting them in the autumn. Some varieties of tulip in my garden come up every year, some that I have planted have only come up for one or two years.

Do you take the leaves off before you dig them up?

What about hyacynths?

organic_wanabe

I leave both my daffs and tulips in the soil and they seem to come up each year. When the flowers have died I fold the leaves down to half the height and secure them with an eleastic band. It stops them looking neglected!

Kaz2904

My neighbour snips the flowers and bends the leaves in half, tying them with garden twine. I've always wondered why she did this and now I know!