Flower bulbs delight us with their flowering. As soon as this withers, all the splendor is gone. Because the foliage of most varieties is inconspicuous, compared to the flowers downright boring. But grabbing the scissors right away is a fatal mistake.

When all the green has faded, the bulbs can move to their summer quarters

The foliage is valuable

There is nothing for our eyes, but the foliage is valuable for the flower bulb. It provides her with energy for the flowering phase and also has an important task to fulfill afterwards. The tuber gradually withdraws all the nutrients from the leaves and stores them for the next season. This is the only way for the coming bloom to succeed magnificently.

let the leaves wither

If you plan to reuse flower bulbs, give them a chance to fill up with nutrients. Leave the leaves on until this process is complete. You will notice this when the leaves turn yellow and dry. Only then can they be cut off or fall off by themselves.

Remove wilted flowers

After flowering, seed production starts. The plant invests a lot of energy in this. From the gardener's point of view, this is usually a waste that needs to be stopped. Therefore, cut off wilted flowers promptly to strengthen tuber growth. However, the stalk should remain, because the tuber can also get the nutrients from it.

allow seed formation

Many types of flower bulbs can be propagated from seeds. Spring bloomers, which are suitable for naturalising, can thus spread in increasing numbers. If that is what you want, the withered blossom must of course not be touched.

Flower bulbs in winter

Faded flower bulbs whose foliage has already completely withered can now expect a rest. The perennial
Spring bloomers are hardy and can remain in the ground. But they can also be dug up and hibernate in a room. Summer bloomers like begonias, gladioli, and dahlias need to be pulled out of the ground when the first frost hits.

  • Carefully loosen the soil, pull out the bulbs
  • get rid of debris
  • Sort out bad or damaged specimens
  • Leave the flower bulbs to dry for a few days
  • collect in airy nets or wooden boxes
  • do not layer on top of each other
  • put in a dry room
  • winter frost-free at 0 to 8 degrees Celsius

Category:

Vegetable garden