Tulips - can I cut leaves?

lolly5648

My tulips have finished flowering and they look really messy in the borders. The leaves are still green but can I cut them down to the ground now or will it hurt next year's display? I am planning to leave the bulbs in the ground and not lift them.

Lube

No leave them to die down as nutrients will go back down to the bulb


http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/tulip-care.html

After They Bloom


They do not have to be dug up once they are finished growing and the leaves fade. As long as you don’t water them, they’ll be quite happy in the ground.

Cut the flower stem to the base where you can see it when the flower fades and the petals start to fall.

This stops the flower from setting seed and instead it puts its efforts into building a big bulb for next year.

However, do not cut the leaves off the tulip until they start to fade and turn yellow .

This is extremely important if you want to see bulbs live from year to year. Those leaves are energy factories and the bulb needs the energy to grow and produce another flower.

If you find yourself still having tulip leaves when you want to plant annual flowers then switch to early varieties of tulips that will be finished when it is time to plant annuals.