On Tue, 8 May 2018 05:29:06 Chris Hogg wrote:

On Mon, 7 May 2018 22:55:35 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 07/05/18 17:36, Roger Tonkin wrote:
I was tying down my daffodils in the troughs in the front
garden over the weekend, partly because I usually do and partly
to show the tulips in the pots better.

A man passing by stopped and said "Oh, I've not seen anyone tie
down daffodils like that for years" (or words to that effect).
Made me think:

a) Is it worth doing, except for the second reason above?
b) Does it help the bulb?
c) Looking around the gardens here, why does no one else do it!

As long as the daffodil leaves are straight and green, they are
supplying food to the bulb for next year's plant - including the flower.
If you bend and knot them and cut off the food supply, you are risking
smaller bulbs and inferior flowers.

My late mother, when she was still able to garden, always knotted her
daffs after they'd flowered.

I used to do this on the advice of my in-laws who were market gardeners.
The reason given for knotting was that it looked neater!

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK