Flowers can be enjoyed year-round with seasonal blooms coming and going as the months pass by. With spring hopefully upon us, the brighter days are bringing even more varieties into their flowering season.
Often seen as heralds of Spring and as symbols of hope, snowdrops are one of the most iconic blooms around at this time of year. Marking the arrival of Spring, snowdrops typically bloom from January through to March. As the temperatures gradually start to climb, anyone with these white bell-shaped flowers in their garden are being urged to do five things. Christopher O’O’Donoghue, Co-director at Gardens Revived, has come up with five handy tips and tricks to help care for these delicate blooms after flowering.
1. Leave the foliage to die back naturally
Although it can be tempting to start deadheading, it’s important to wait until after your snowdrops have finished flowering if you want them to bloom again.
“Don’t cut the leaves off immediately, as they continue to photosynthesise and store energy for next year’s blooms,” says Christopher.
Instead, gardeners should give their snowdrops enough time to turn yellow and wither naturally as this allows them to reabsorb the nutrients they need to make a comeback next year.
2. Remove any faded flowers
Once your snowdrops have withered and faded away, you can now start deheading.
“Removing the faded flowers can prevent seed production and help the plant conserve energy,” says Christopher.
However, if you don’t want to do this, you can leave the seed pots to mature, self-seed and spread naturally instead.
3. Divide and conquer
If you want to have more of these beautiful blooms next year, then Christopher advises lifting clumps from the soil.
He says: “There’s no need to be rough – these little beauties prefer a delicate touch.
“Split them into smaller sections with a hand trowel, keeping as much of the root system intact as possible, and then replant them straight away. Minimal fuss, maximum reward.”
4. Feed them well
Christopher advises using a general-purpose liquid fertiliser to give your snowdrops a good feed after flowering.
5. Let them rest
The final thing you can do with snowdrops after flowering is to simply give them space and avoid disturbing the soil too much.
