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Spring bulbs - what do I do with dead foliage if I am leaving them in the beds?

Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
in Problem solving
I have some daffodil, crocus, snowdrops, and hyacinths in beds.
I have read that I should now leave them, now they have flowered, and let the foliage go yellow (6+ weeks).
But what should I then do with the dead foliage, if I am planning on leaving those bulbs in the beds? The sources I have read online only talk about taking the bulbs out and storing them, then replanting them.
Last year they were left in the beds over winter and they came up fine in spring (they were a surprise), so I'd like to leave them again, unless there is a big drawback to doing that.
I guess a drawback could be, I can't plant things on top of the buried bulbs from now to autumn, for colour, or could I?
Thank you for any help, I am very new to all this.

Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    I leave mine and when the leaves are dead pull them out.
    If you plan on planting near you bulbs mark where they are and take care  planting anything else
    Crocus and snowdrops are very near the surface and I just poke them back if I dig one up.
    Daffodils should be planted deeply so will be OK for small plants but if you plan to plant a tree or shrub dig them out now and let then dry off somewhere or repot into a plant pot until they die down. 
    Hyacinths ften don't come back very well, the flowers tend to get fewer so these bulbs are often discarded.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Hyacinths left in the garden do very well here though so it may depend on what kind of conditions you get. Some of mine must be at least 4 or 5 years old. They do not however, as you say, have quite as many flowers per stem.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I've got hyacinths older than that, that were originally forced for indoors flowering. They are a lot "thinner" in the flowering than new ones, but perfectly acceptable in amongst all the other things. Deadhead when the flowers fade and cut off the leaves and flower stems when they've gone yellow or brown.
    Any bulb that gets accidentally dug up after dying down just gets poked back in somewhere nearby. I'm not fussy about exact placement.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Thank you so much K67, Lizzie27, and JennyJ, that is really helpful.
    I am learning a lot. What a nice simple way to do it.
  • CrazybeeladyCrazybeelady Posts: 778
    The foliage is annoying isn't it! It takes all my strength to stop myself cutting it off  :D. If you're really good at gardening (not me) you plant in a way that you have something growing up at the same time the greenery is dying off and it covers it up. 
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Yes, it is. It is green and I want to get rid of it, so I'll be itching to when it's yellow! But I will resist.
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