Gardens can look colourful in May when tulips and daffodils are springing out of the ground. However, even as these flowers begin to fade, you should avoid cutting them at that moment, according to Judith Cox, a master gardener from Gardening Calendar.
She said: “I know it is tempting to cut daffodils and tulips down, but try to resist. You can cut the spent flowers, but don’t cut the leaves. The leaves are feeding the bulbs and are very important to the health of the plant.”
Tulips and daffodils seeds can spread anywhere in your garden, and can easily make a garden look messy if they grow somewhere inconvenient.
However, if you cut down tulips and daffodils after they flower it will cut off their seed supply so you will not get any spring blooms next year.
Both tulips and daffodils need time to store energy after they have flowered for next year’s blooms and cutting the leaves or bulbs will result in no flowers next year.
This is why it is important to not touch their leaves as both tulips and daffodils need their foliage to start forming new seeds.
It is better to wait until tulips and daffodils begin to fade and die naturally, which usually happens in late June, before touching them.
When daffodils or tulips are in your way, then it is better for the garden to instead mask the dying foliage by planting low-growing perennials that will hide the wilting leaves.
If you enjoy having a spring garden and want to encourage longer-lasting or even bigger flowers next year, you can deadhead tulips and daffodils.
Deadheading is the simple gardening act of pulling off the flowers at they fade helps the plant focus its energy on the bulb and roots to make them stronger.
Judith said: “This year I am determined to do my best to deadhead my flowers. If you take off the dead flowers, you will get more and more flowers.”
In May both tulips and tulips and daffodils can spend too much energy on their fading flowers, but deadheading them instead makes them focus on keeping healthy and making seeds for next year.
All you need to do is pinch the flower petals just above the leaves, but do not touch the stem or any of the leaves as they are still feeding the bulb.
If you avoid touching the foliage and instead snip off the petals as they die, then you will have even more beautiful flowers growing in your garden next spring.