The magnificent, golden trumpets that daffodils produce herald the return of warm and bright spring days, making them one of the most prized plants in our collection. That's why we need to take care of these spring beauties - after blooming, daffodils need care and attention to increase the likelihood of them blooming again in the years to come. We'll tell you below when and how you should cut off faded daffodils!
The care you give your daffodils after they bloom can affect their growth next year, so it's important that you do it correctly. Only when the leaves of the daffodil plant have turned yellow can you prune them.
It is important to allow daffodils to die back naturally so that energy can be put back into the bulb and it can produce flowers next spring. These beautiful spring flowers continue to absorb nutrients for about six weeks after the flowers die, so they need plenty of sunlight and a constant supply of water during this phase.
Cut off faded daffodils: This is what you should pay attention to
Removing the spent flower heads is an important task and an essential part of the spring gardening that a gardener must do to keep the flowers at their best. Although it may seem like a small task, learning how to remove the spent blooms from daffodils is really important because it allows the bulbs to grow and produce healthy blooms next spring.
You can cut off daffodils at any time after the flowers have faded. Your flower beds will then look much nicer and clearer and the plants will not be damaged, but no new ones will be formed eitherflowers on the plants. However, if seed pods form, you should remove them as they rob energy that is important for the bulbs.
If you want to be successful, just follow these simple tips:
- It is not necessary to cut the stem at the base as it can benefit the plant, although it will eventually die on its own.
- Simply remove the dead flower along with the top two inches of the stem, but leave the rest of the flower intact so it can continue to photosynthesize and feed the plant.
- Pruning daffodils after flowering prevents the plants from wasting their energy forming seed heads instead of giving it back to the bulbs so they can prepare for next year's flowering.
Fertilize daffodils after flowering
You can support the process of returning energy from the daffodils to the bulbs by providing the plants with nutrients even after they have faded. You can do thisby the plantseither water every two weeks with a liquid tomato fertilizer or by applying a general granular feed.
You can let nature take its course - the leaves should fall off on their own after about six weeks. You can also hide the unsightliness of wilting plants by surrounding them with evergreen perennials and later-blooming plants.
