Hello, I am sorry if this is not a right place to post my question. Last October, in order to get the most blooms in my small garden, I layered bulbs like daffodils and tulips. Daffodils began fading flowers and small tulips started blooming between tall daffodils few days ago. I removed fading daffodil flowers and leaves until tulips were shown yesderday morning. My questions are: Are tulips and daffodils treated as an annual? Are there any tulips and daffodil care after blooming? I purchased very inexpensive bulbs from a local garden centre last year in Vancouver, Canada.
The problem is you put small tulips among daffodils, to successfully stack bulbs in an area that appear and bloom at similar times you need to coordinate the heights so that one kind does not tower over and obscure another. If you are saying you cut all of the daffodil foliage away that will not be appreciated. Otherwise daffodils may persist indefinitely if on suitable soil and in suitable exposure, some tulips may also hang around for awhile but many garden hybrids are considered ephemeral and replaced frequently--bulb companies of course have a history of promoting the annual replacement of bulbs as this greatly increases their sales. Daffodils can be interplanted successfully with peonies, daylilies and hostas. You do not put all these on top of one another but they can be close to one another.
Hi Ron, Thank you for your quick and helpful response to my questions. I spent several days planting bulbs only to find that I planted a drift of tall daffodils that obscure the view of smaller species tulips planted with them. In order for smaller tulips to rise above the tall daffodils, I cut back leaves 6 to 9 inches from the ground. Is there any chance for my daffodils to create a wonderful show next spring? Thanks in advance and Happy Easter to Ron and all. ------------ Form is formless. Formlessness is form.
Dead head the Daffodils to remove the seed pods (providing you dont want to grow new plants from seed, which takes forever anyway) you really should leave the leaves as they are for a minimum of 6 weeks, but its far better to leave them until they die back naturally.
Ron and Oscar, Thank you for your answers. Next time I will ask here first before I do something wrong on my own.
Hi formless: As you've now heard, leaving the foliage for 6 weeks after the bloom is better for the plants. Hopefully the bit you left will help store some energy into the bulbs. Fertilizing with bonemeal in February, and after they bloom will also help them stay vigorous. I planted my daffodils with violas in the fall. The violas loved the bonemeal as well, and the blue blooms looked great with the daffs. After the daff blooms faded, the violas covered the withering daffodil leaves.
Candy, thank you for your comment and idea. I have never thought about growing viola flowers with Daffodils. I will try this fall.
