Do you ever get frustrated by all the dead leaves your spring bulbs leave behind? Resist the strong urge to cut back spent foliage because there are benefits to leaving them alone. Here’s more about when it’s safe to cut back spring bulb flowers and leaves.
It’s such a temptation to want to cut down all the brown leaves that your spring bulbs leave behind. Your garden can look messy and unkept. But if you are counting on your spring bulbs to bloom again next year, you will need to leave them be until they die off.
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I’m a self-taught hobby gardener, not a Master Gardener. Everything I share with you on my blog is my personal opinion and things that worked for me along the way.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO RESIST CUTTING BACK SPRING BULB SPENT LEAVES
How long should you wait before cutting back your spent leaves? Eight weeks is a good rule of thumb. That means bulbs that bloomed in April, need to be left standing until June.
After flowering, the bulbs need their leaves in order to photosynthesize. They will make and store enough food to get them through the remainder of the year and set new bulbs.
DON’T TIE THE LEAVES INTO BUNDLES
The leaves need to be exposed to sunlight in order to be able to photosynthesize. It’s better if you don’t tie them up, bend them over or braid them.
HOW TO TELL IF LEAVES ARE READY TO CUT BACK
If you’re not sure when you should be cutting down the spent leaves, test them. Gently pull the leave, and if it comes out of the ground without any resistance, the bulb has all the nutrients it needs for the next season and can be cut back.
WHEN IS IT SAFE TO CUT SPENT FLOWERS?
Spent flowers can be cut back to the ground after they have finished blooming. This will reduce the energy it takes from the bulb.
FEEDING YOUR SPRING BULBS
Feed your bulbs when they first pop out of the ground, and while they are building up energy to store. There are special bulb fertilizers that have a high percentage of phosphorous, or you can use a bone meal.
HOW CAN YOU SPRUCE UP YOUR GARDEN?
I tend to tuck my bulbs in between evergreen shrubs and early spring growing perennials. This helps hide the brown leaves. Planting early blooming annuals, such as primroses and pansies, around the spring bulbs can help distract from the spent foliage.
I hope this gives you an idea of when to cut back spring bulb flowers and their leaves. Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time,
Happy Gardening!
Stacy at Bricks ‘n Blooms is sharing your tips on How to Plant a Garden After Starting Seeds Indoors. She sowed so many different varieties of flower seeds this year. You will want to see all of her great ideas.
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Love these tips! Here in Northern California my bulbs sprouted back in early March and I just cut them back not too long ago ‘cuz I had read somewhere to leave them even though it’s ugly. All your bulbs and flowers are beautiful! XO- MaryJo
Yes, I have those ugly things laying all over the ground…still and it’s June. Oh well, I can’t imagine the garden without them. It would look pretty sad in early spring. Thanks for visiting!
Kim, a few years ago I put in an extensive bulb garden. It looks glorious for a few weeks and then, I have to leave all the dead leaves up until the energy is sent back into the bulb. Not a pretty time, but this year, several poppies sprouted up and took over. Now I have to move those out of there because they seem to be competing with the iris, hyacinths and tulips. It’s always something!
It really is always something in the garden Mary! I really need to do a better job planning out something to grow in front of the dead foliage. I always think I am so smart, but by the time a perennial grows tall enough to hide the dead leaves, they are ready to be pulled out. At least I will have another challenge to try to overcome.
This is great and I need all the advice you can give me! 😉 I know my followers will love this post too so I’m sharing it in my weekend round up Sunday.
Oh, thank you, Kristin! I am a couple of weeks behind on responding but will have to check out your round-up!
Oh my gosh, I so needed this friend! Thank you so much for sharing it.
I’m so glad Chas! I always love it when I can help YOU with something for a change.
Kim I love all your flowering bulbs! They look great this year – especially your bed of tulips and wheelbarrow of daffodils. I can’t wait to see the gardens grow and fill in! Thank you for including me in your post today! xoxo
I love spring bulbs more and more every year. I can’t imagine a spring garden without them anymore. It would be so bland. I do have a tough time when it’s June and the foliage still hasn’t died back! Good things we can edit our pictures!
I had no idea. I don’t know if there are any bulbs I can plant here in Florida since we don’t get the cold that so many bulbs need. I did grow tulips and daffodils in Ohio, but interesting, I always braided the leaves. I never had any trouble with them coming back and blooming again in the spring, but now I wonder if they would have done better if I had not. It is just how I was always taught.
It would be so much prettier to braid the leaves, but I had read it in a couple of different places not to do it. But if it worked for you in the past I wouldn’t change things up. Florida is just a different beast when it comes to gardening. But I know you will figure it out!
Kim,
I wish I’d seen this post earlier. LOL. I’m sharing on Sunday’s Dirt Road Adventures to hopefully help some of my friends.
Thanks for your great information.
Thank you, Rachel! Sorry so late with this response.
That was a great idea to wait 2 months to cut down dead leaves, then to gently pull the leave to see if it is ready. I will to try this method with my bulbs!
Hi Heidi, Sometimes you’ll be lucky and it won’t take quite as long. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for this info; I had no idea you had to leave the tulip/daffodil leaves for 8 weeks. My dear friend loves tulips & has a yard full of them, but she always has to plant new because many of them won’t come back & now I think I know why as she cuts hers back too soon – I’ll let her know about this.
I am so glad that you can take this information back to your friend. I really hope it will help. It is so hard to be patient with ugly, brown leaves hanging all over your yard!