Daffodils

[Racerbear02]

Stupid question just showing off my ignorance

If I cut the flowers off my daffs and bring them in the house, will the bulbs grow again next year without any further attention from me??

Yeah I know it's a basic question but I just don't know

Thanks in advance

[Hoddy]

Basic answer - yes !

You should leave the leaves to die down though.

They're lovely just now aren't they ?

Hoddy

[Alexis]

Don't worry.  We all had to learn!

I am between houses at the moment so cut the daffs here as I wasn't getting the benefit.

I am most certainly not a cutter of flowers....  So.  Back end I am going to start a cutting garden by planting loads of daffs and tulips.

Perhaps

[Sabina]

How come your daffs are flowering?

Mine flowered only in the first spring after planting. I was told this was because they did not get enough rain/water in July.

Is there another reason they come up blind?

Sabina

[Alexis]

Over crowding affects flowering.  If you planted them recently though, that seems unlikely.

Have you got the leaves?  Bulbs not rotted?  Been eaten?

It isn't that hot up here but I have never watered my bulbs.  Even during the canicule I watered nothing.

[letrangere]

Once they've flowered, doesn't anyone else bend the stalks over, secure them with an elastic band and leave them for a few weeks?  Then when the stalks have withered trim them off.  My mother used to do this - actually, as a small child she used to make me do it - but I can't recall her reasoning just that it was often hard work on chilly spring days in our very large garden.  M

[Coco]

Yes we do that Margaret!!

Ours seem to be 50/50 this year.  One bed looks absolutely lovely but there are quite a few dotted round the garden that have leaves and no flowers and in one of the gardens my husband looks after there are plenty of leaves but no flowers at all!!!??!?!

[Lizzie15]

[quote]Once they've flowered, doesn't anyone else bend the stalks over, secure them with an elastic band and leave them for a few weeks? Then when the stalks have withered trim them off. My mother used to ...[/quote]

Hi- yes,we used to do that but now I just nip off the end where they have flowered-it's easier and doesn't seem to make a difference to next years growth.

ps- all the lillies that I thought had perished in the frost have come back!Hurray! They twice tried to grow and twice were literally "nipped in the bud", It's been 3rd time lucky!

pps- the banana that really was extremely miserable is growing, 7 fat stalks so far.

 

[Guest CFrost]

Hi, I am no percy thrower when it comes to gardening, I just chuck 'em in and see what happens!  As for daffs, I wait until the flower is past its best, (usually when dead!) then i just chop the whole lot including leaves etc at the root, and guess what, they come back year after year, bigger and better This proves there is no right way or wrong way to gardening, it depends on how fed up you get with the dead daffs in the garden, well it does in our house anyway!

Happy pruning