How you handle Daffodil foliage

I have the inner portion of my garden all mulched down and have one row of daffodils there where I just let the foliage completely die. However, i have one row at the edge of my garden and the grass gets in the row really bad and then very tall and goes to seed and always flops into the garden. Is there any standard for weeks that daffodil foliage should be left to help nuture the bulb, or has anyone cut the foliage off within 4 to 6 weeks of bloom? I'd really like to mow off the foliage now, and they are still very green. Thanks for any input.

Hi, T,

I have read that you can lop off the daffodil foliage when it's just about six to eight weeks old, but you will get the best bloom return the following year if you leave it until it's at least flopped over, if not totally brown, or about eight to ten weeks for most varieties and climates.

I give mine the chop after about six or seven weeks and then just chalk up any loss of bloom the following year to saving myself from going crazy over having the late season mess in the garden. If you chop it earlier than six weeks of course you will get a more meagre return.

To compensate for early chop off and to encourage a nice bloom for subsequent years, American Daffodil Society members suggest a feeding of 5-10-10 granules three times: at planting, again when leaves first emerge, and again at bloom.

I use a liquid fertilizer with a high percentage of P and K (like 'Miracle Gro for Blooms' in the purple box) since I think the nutrients will reach the bulb and roots more easily or I dose them with a timed release like Osmocote for Blooms. (not a high nitrogen blend).

Of course, some people feed only organic fertilizers like bone mean and blood meal, but I find they attract the critters...

Good luck. t.

Thank you very much tab! I guess mine are at about 8 weeks, so I'll mow them off and see how they perform next year. Not too good about fertiziling, but if bloom decreases really bad, then I might.

Teresa,
This same subject is the reason I don't like to plant a lot of spring bulbs. I am not a patient gardener by no means! I went on various websites and some websites that even sell the bulbs recommend that you allow the foliage to die naturally and just plant something in front to hide the ulgy mess. That's not always possible. Just last week I folded the leaves of my daffs down to the ground, and tied them loosely with green garden yarn. My dear MIL used to bend hers over and put a rubberband on them. Some people tie a knot with the foliage(haven't tried that, sounds too hard to do), so I'm experimenting a little this year. I dug up about 18 of my daff bulbs, with foliage attached and heeled them into a plastic window box and some flower pots, packed in soil and I'm letting them die down like that, behind the A/C unit. When the foliage has died back, I will lay the bulbs out on newspaper for a few days to make sure they are completely dried and I'm going to go buy some of those hosiery bags with holes in them that you use to laundry your hose or unmentionables and hang them up on a nail in the garage and replant them late October or early November. Daff bulbs are fairly cheap if I have to replace them. I have a friend that cuts the tips of the foliage down about 4-6 in. and lets the rest died back naturally, and she says hers come back just fine every year. It's a toss up and you know the old saying "Gardening is all about trial and error."

Happy Memorial Day!

Mowing today. Chop chop they go. May lift the blade to 5" to mow over them. We'll see how they do next year.