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Tidy Daffodils
Everyone loves Daffodils while they are in bloom. They signal the beginning of the growing season, and brighten flower beds which are only just beginning to wake up. Then, once the rest of the plants have begun to show, the daffodils die back and get out of the way. Except, of course, for the huge fan of faded leaves that is left in it's place.This mat of leaves buries other plants,and can be quite unsightly. However, you do not want to cut it off as the bulbs use the energy stored in these leaves to build and fortify themselves for the winter. If you want your daffodils to emerge next spring, you'll have to leave these leaves alone.
Here's a suggestion for tidying up the leaves, without hurting the bulbs. I found it in a garden magazine (don't recall which one) and found that it works really well. Here goes...
***Important Note***: It has been pointed out to me by a few people, and I have found numerous documents to back them up, that this 'can' be hazardous to the bulbs. I feel it is important to mention before you read further that I do not bundle the fronds until they have already dropped unto the ground and turned mostly brown. At that point I believe that there is little capillary activity or photosynthesis occuring, which is why I haven't yet run into difficulty. There is still the question as to whether tying the bundles at even this point may have a cumulative effect on the bulbs and I just haven't been doing it long enough to see the results. Rest assured that should this be the case and I suddenly lose all of the Daffs at once, I'll be screaming up and down the net about how stupid this idea was. Until then .....
The Start:This is how the daffodils normally look after they have started to fade.
Step 1:Take up all of the leaves for each plant, hold them in a tight bunch.
Step 2:Fold the top of the bunch down, over your hand, to form a loop in the leaves. I generally fold the tips of the leaves right back to the ground (in other words - in half).
Step 3:Tie the leaves in this folded position. They will dry this way, and ultimately detach from the bulbs. The bundles are hardly noticed behind or under other plants and when they are finished, all you have to pick up is a tidy little package.
Brett
Last Updated: April 10, 2001