Q.
After my spring bulbs have flowered should I cut the leaves back and do I have to lift the bulbs each year?
A.
- Once bulbs have flowered allow the leaves to die down naturally. This provides the bulb with essential food reserves for healthy growth and flowers the following season.
- The foliage can be tied in a knot or bent over and tied with garden twine to tidy them up.
- Apply a side dressing of Tui Bulb Food once flowering has finished, bulb food contains essential nutrients to improve next seasons flowering.
- Spring flowering daffodil bulbs can be left in the ground undisturbed for 3-5 years or until they get crowded and need dividing.
- Frost tender bulbs such as dahlias and begonias may need lifting and storing over winter, replant in early spring or start off in pots before planting out.
- If lifting bulbs before they have died down remove them with the foliage intact and leave to die down naturally.
- Store bulbs in a cool dry place either in a paper bag, wrapped in newspaper, in a shoe box or tray (not in plastic bags).
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Do I cut the leaves off my spring bulbs after flowering? Comments
I have been given some family heirloom tree onion bulbs but how to I grow them. I put a bulb in the soil last year but now there about 300 plants. Should I have lifted them ----the onions were growing on the outside of the plant but weren't very big at all. Am I supposed to cook them or what do I do with them please. ?
Lynne Ryder
This was the second season my daffodils were no show,there were a few leaves from some bulbs but no flowers at all.The first year i planted them i had a great show.
Lynn Walker
As experienced gardeners we have grown runner beans for many years. Over the past 10 years we seem to have had a problem which occurs after the first flowering and supply of beans.The vines gradually start dry die off meaning no following crops as there used to be in the past. Someone suggested a red spider mite maybe the problem.In any case is there a product we can use to deal with this? Many thanks. Elsa & Alan Collecutt
Elsa
Often wondered if an answer like this fits all. Thanks, and for the question, Michelle!!
Graeme Pullar
Hi Lynne, thank you for getting in touch. Tree onions are wonderful, use them like you would a spring onion or shallot. They are easy to divide and transplant. Plant them into soil that is loose and well dug over, full sun is best and keep the soil moist. A drench with Seasol plant tonic will help fire them into action. You can leave them in the soil and let them bulk up, they don’t have to be split up every year. Enjoy them! - Tui Team.
jenna
Hi Lyn, thanks for getting in touch. It sounds like your bulbs need some bulb food. Leaves and no flowers often signals the bulbs are lacking nutrients. Leave the foliage on the plants and sprinkle some bulb food around the base of the bulbs now, this will help the plant start to initiate flowers for next season. Transplanting them to another spot may help too, they are best where they can get full sun in winter. Thanks, Tui Team.
jenna
Hi Elsa, oh dear this isn’t good and it quite possibly could be red spider mite, or it could be a fungal problem. In either case, spray with a fungal spray and insecticide as soon as the first lot of flowers start to appear (check at your local garden centre), do this a couple of times and it should prevent the problem happening again. To give your plants a boost a monthly drench of Seasol will help toughen the plants up to an attack of anything. Your other option could be to move where you plant your crop; nasties can build up in the soil, so crop rotation is always a good process. Thanks, Tui Team.
jenna