A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Now what?

My mini daffodils have died off and I realized that I don't know what to do when bulb flowers start to go away. Do I cut them down? Leave them be to compost into the soil? And what about when my big daffodils and tulips start to die?

I always let the stock turn brown and die back so the bulb gets energy for next year then I cut off the brown, and leave it be,,, where you planning on digging them up or leaving in ground for next year??

I was just planning on leaving them in the ground for next year. Stalks haven't turned brown yet, just the flower is gone, the rest of the plant is still green.

I know some people snap off the stem so the plant diverst energy into the bulb instead of seeds

good answer kenny. i leave all my bulbs to just "do their thing" which is why i prefer bulbs!

That's what I was hoping for, to just plant them and that's it! But, as I've realized, there is still so much that I don't know.

I have another question, when all the bulb flowers die off can I still plant annuals in those spots to fill in the empty spaces for the rest of the season?

As long as they are basically shallow rooted annuals..
Yep, that's a prefect location for them...

I preferr to do it by seeding the ground for some,
cause digging a hole to put in the annuals can sometimes
get a stab wound or two to the bulbs from the shovel.

You could also plant some type of flowering vine to one side of your bulbs and let it scramble over the remains of your bulb plants.