Greetings, all...

How long after the blooms have faded should I wait to sut back the
leaves/stalks of daffodils, irises, etc? We have a bunch of them, and
they looked great when they were blooming, but it looks like a jungle
now.

Also... they're all leaning down toward the ground, rather than shooting
straight up. When they first came up, they were straight, but now
they're bowing down. I've been out of town for a while, but my wife
thinks they started drooping during several days of heavy wind and rain,
and that that's the reason. I wonder if I didn't plant the bulbs deep
enough last fall.

Any advice would be appreciated.

You don't cut them back. You let them die back naturally. Next years flowers
depend upon the energy produced by the leaves and stored in the bulbs this
year. If the foliage becomes untidy, you can tie it up but don't remove it.
The bulbs will adjust themselves to the proper depth all by themselves.


Charles "Stretch" Ledford wrote in
message ...
Greetings, all...

How long after the blooms have faded should I wait to sut back the
leaves/stalks of daffodils, irises, etc? We have a bunch of them, and
they looked great when they were blooming, but it looks like a jungle
now.

Also... they're all leaning down toward the ground, rather than shooting
straight up. When they first came up, they were straight, but now
they're bowing down. I've been out of town for a while, but my wife
thinks they started drooping during several days of heavy wind and rain,
and that that's the reason. I wonder if I didn't plant the bulbs deep
enough last fall.

Any advice would be appreciated.

In article ,
"Cereoid-UR12" wrote:

You don't cut them back. You let them die back naturally. Next years flowers
depend upon the energy produced by the leaves and stored in the bulbs this
year. If the foliage becomes untidy, you can tie it up but don't remove it.
The bulbs will adjust themselves to the proper depth all by themselves.



Cool... thanks for the advice. I'll get some twine and tie 'em up,
because they look awful right now.

If you want a good show of blooms next year, you should not cut down the
foliage. Leave it alone until it has yellowed, then you can remove it.
Looking at the receding foliage is just the price you pay for healthy bulbs
and good blooms. It is normal for it to get droopy and floppy after a
while.

Many people plant perennials in with the bulbs, and let the emerging
perennial foliage help camouflage the bulb foliage. A classic example of
this is planting daylilies with daffodils. Some people bunch up or tie up
or even braid the bulb foliage, to neaten the look, but this is not
recommended because it lessens the effectiveness of the foliage in making
nutrients for the bulb.

I've found that if I focus on other garden tasks and issues, of which there
are plenty, it becomes easy to just ignore the bulb foliage, and before I
know it, it's high summer, and I can gather up the dried remnants.

Cheers,
Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


"Charles "Stretch" Ledford" wrote in
message ...
Greetings, all...

How long after the blooms have faded should I wait to sut back the
leaves/stalks of daffodils, irises, etc? We have a bunch of them, and
they looked great when they were blooming, but it looks like a jungle
now.

Also... they're all leaning down toward the ground, rather than shooting
straight up. When they first came up, they were straight, but now
they're bowing down. I've been out of town for a while, but my wife
thinks they started drooping during several days of heavy wind and rain,
and that that's the reason. I wonder if I didn't plant the bulbs deep
enough last fall.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm replying to both your posts. First, about the daffodil and iris plants.
It is very normal for them to start to fall over and look messy after they
have finished their blooming. You should wait for the stalks to at least
turn brown half way down or all the way if possible. The bulbs are now
drawing energy from the leafy part of the plant to store for next years
bloom season. If you're concerned about the messy look, you can throw a
light mulch over them to cover them or just wait for them to die back. As
far as how deeply to plant the bulbs, they seemed to bloom o.k. for you this
past season. Typically, they are planted about 4-6" deep.

Now, onto the Holly Tone Fertilizer. Holly Tone is a slow acting, organic
way to feed acid loving plants. Applying too much should not damage your
bushes. I don't measure it when applying to my gardenias and hollies. I
just throw handfuls under the bushes and have never had a problem. If it
were a fast acting food, i.e. (10-10-10), then I would scrape it off. You
should be fine. Good luck.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"Charles "Stretch" Ledford" wrote in
message ...
Greetings, all...

How long after the blooms have faded should I wait to sut back the
leaves/stalks of daffodils, irises, etc? We have a bunch of them, and
they looked great when they were blooming, but it looks like a jungle
now.

Also... they're all leaning down toward the ground, rather than shooting
straight up. When they first came up, they were straight, but now
they're bowing down. I've been out of town for a while, but my wife
thinks they started drooping during several days of heavy wind and rain,
and that that's the reason. I wonder if I didn't plant the bulbs deep
enough last fall.

Any advice would be appreciated.

In article ,
"Penny Morgan" wrote:

I'm replying to both your posts. First, about the daffodil and iris plants.
It is very normal for them to start to fall over and look messy after they
have finished their blooming. You should wait for the stalks to at least
turn brown half way down or all the way if possible. The bulbs are now
drawing energy from the leafy part of the plant to store for next years
bloom season. If you're concerned about the messy look, you can throw a
light mulch over them to cover them or just wait for them to die back. As
far as how deeply to plant the bulbs, they seemed to bloom o.k. for you this
past season. Typically, they are planted about 4-6" deep.

Now, onto the Holly Tone Fertilizer. Holly Tone is a slow acting, organic
way to feed acid loving plants. Applying too much should not damage your
bushes. I don't measure it when applying to my gardenias and hollies. I
just throw handfuls under the bushes and have never had a problem. If it
were a fast acting food, i.e. (10-10-10), then I would scrape it off. You
should be fine. Good luck.


Thanks, Penny!

In article .net,
"SugarChile" wrote:



I've found that if I focus on other garden tasks and issues, of which there
are plenty, it becomes easy to just ignore the bulb foliage, and before I
know it, it's high summer, and I can gather up the dried remnants.


Yah... I'm cool with it... it's my wife who doesn't like the look!

Thanks!

"Charles "Stretch" Ledford" wrote
Yah... I'm cool with it... it's my wife who doesn't like the look!

Um, I think that's a different newsgroup! 8-)

Sue