When to Clean Up Bulb Foliage

We gardeners do love our glorious spring bulbs, don’t we? And once they’ve finished blooming, we do love a tidy flower bed, too. But before you remove any bulb foliage, read this:

While you might not realize this, those leaves are busily putting energy into the bulbs for next year’s bloom. You certainly wouldn’t want to jeopardize that, would you? As long as the leaves are green, they’re still conducting photosynthesis.

A few years ago, a colleague and friend of mine, Ed Hume, shared some information with me. He said research has shown it’s safe to remove the leaves of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths 21 days after they bloom. He feels the leaves of other bulbs should be left in place for six to eight weeks.

I know, that’s quite a long time that can try the patience of tidy gardeners like myself. However, I feel it’s definitely a worthwhile practice!

It is perfectly fine, however, to clip off the spent flowers. This will make your flower beds look a little nicer. And it prevents the flowers from developing seed, a process that would take away energy from the bulb.

Here’s a link to one of my videos on planting spring-flowering bulbs.