I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve
grown them in this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if
there is a rule og thumb as to when it is time to cut the tops off.
They are looking very untidy because of the recent strong winds

Any suggestions?

TIA

Malcolm

Gardening on the South Coast close to Portsmouth

"Malcolm Race" wrote in message ...
I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve grown them in
this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if there is a rule og thumb as to
when it is time to cut the tops off. They are looking very untidy because of the recent
strong winds

Any suggestions?

The Cornish Daffodil growers carried out an experiment some years ago
in which they examined the best time to cut off the tops of the plant. They
had the best result by cutting off the tops as soon as the bulbs had flowered.
They concluded that the foliage had already produced sufficient nutrition
for the bulbs to flower the following year and that the bulbs were healthier
by not allowing pathogens to be transmitted down to the bulb by leaving
the folliage on. I have always cut down the daffodils immediately after
flowering and the plants have increased in health and numbers.

Phil

On Tue, 12 May 2015 14:20:41 +0100, Malcolm Race
wrote:

I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve
grown them in this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if
there is a rule og thumb as to when it is time to cut the tops off.
They are looking very untidy because of the recent strong winds

Any suggestions?

When I get at them I cut them down to about 2" as soon as they finish
flowering. My gardener is the other extreme. He makes the leaves look
tidy by lying them down so they are covered by other plant growth.
Both methods seem to work. I suppose if I'm 100% honest his probably
grow a bit bigger but not a lot.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

On 12/05/2015 14:20, Malcolm Race wrote:
I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve
grown them in this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if
there is a rule og thumb as to when it is time to cut the tops off. They
are looking very untidy because of the recent strong winds

Any suggestions?

Resist the temptation to tidy them up or you will have a poorer display
next year. The bulb needs to feed and the top growth die back naturally.

I leave mine as long as possible though I do chop the seed heads off.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 12/05/2015 15:52, Martin Brown wrote:
On 12/05/2015 14:20, Malcolm Race wrote:
I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve
grown them in this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if
there is a rule og thumb as to when it is time to cut the tops off. They
are looking very untidy because of the recent strong winds

Any suggestions?

Resist the temptation to tidy them up or you will have a poorer display
next year. The bulb needs to feed and the top growth die back naturally.

I leave mine as long as possible though I do chop the seed heads off.

As I have written here before. There are loads of daffodils planted in
central reservations and verges in this area. I wait until the council
cut theirs then I cut mine. Worked fine until now, so I will continue to
do so.

On 12/05/2015 14:20, Malcolm Race wrote:
I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve
grown them in this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if
there is a rule og thumb as to when it is time to cut the tops off. They
are looking very untidy because of the recent strong winds

Any suggestions?

TIA

Malcolm

Gardening on the South Coast close to Portsmouth
Many thanks for the somewhat conflicting advice.. Ithink that I will
follow the advice in Phil's reply

Malcolm

"philgurr" wrote


"Malcolm Race" wrote in message
...
I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve
grown them in this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if
there is a rule og thumb as to when it is time to cut the tops off. They
are looking very untidy because of the recent strong winds

Any suggestions?

The Cornish Daffodil growers carried out an experiment some years ago
in which they examined the best time to cut off the tops of the plant. They
had the best result by cutting off the tops as soon as the bulbs had
flowered.
They concluded that the foliage had already produced sufficient nutrition
for the bulbs to flower the following year and that the bulbs were
healthier
by not allowing pathogens to be transmitted down to the bulb by leaving
the folliage on. I have always cut down the daffodils immediately after
flowering and the plants have increased in health and numbers.


Presumably they had been well fed during the flowering/growing period too.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 12/05/2015 22:59, Malcolm Race wrote:
On 12/05/2015 14:20, Malcolm Race wrote:
I have some naturalsid bulbs which finished flowering 2-3weeka agoI hve
grown them in this place for about 10 years and have always wondered if
there is a rule og thumb as to when it is time to cut the tops off. They
are looking very untidy because of the recent strong winds

Any suggestions?

TIA

Malcolm

Gardening on the South Coast close to Portsmouth
Many thanks for the somewhat conflicting advice.. Ithink that I will
follow the advice in Phil's reply

Malcolm

Pretty revolutionary stuff, but presumably based on proper research.
Would certainly make mowing the lawn easier!

On 12/05/2015 14:20, Malcolm Race wrote:

Any suggestions?

"Cutting back bulb foliage

"Wait for a minimum of six weeks after the end of flowering before
cutting back the dead foliage, and ideally only remove foliage when it
is yellow and straw-like. Until this time, the bulbs should be watered
and fed as above. Also, do not tie or knot the leaves."

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=91

I looked it up because I recall them doing comparative studies some
years ago - back when I lived with my mother, who was a member. So
before my kids left home. OK a lot of years ago

Andy