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To dead head or not to
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
in Talkback
We are lucky to have a driveway with masses of daffodils growing up it - also in various pots outside our house. I have always deadheaded but watching GW or was it Countryfile they suggested not to do this but to let the daffodils seeds fall naturally & grow into new plants in situ - do you agree with this (new to me) idea?
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I think it was ones that are "naturalised". The seeds spread and gradually replace the older bulbs. We have a patch of daffodils planted by the council in some grass across the road. Nobody deadheads those, they just get mown off when the leaves have died.
I would deadhead and feed the ones in pots leave the others if they're growing in grass and there is loads of them.
I've never dead headed a daff yet. The cultivars don't seed true so if you want your daffs to stay the same don't let them seed. The cultivars are any that have a name , Jetfire, February Gold, Carlton etc
If you have species daffs they will seed true.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Guernsey it was the native daffs they didn't dead head. They seed naturally and will multiply.
Ah yes, I remember that now Dave M - they have the deep yellow trumpet and the paler petals - yes that's it. We see them growing in hedges and on the cliffs here - thanks for jogging my memory
I have deadheaded! Still a few late daffs in full flower but mainly just the leaves left in our driveway. I read or head somewhere that you can cut the leaves down after about 4 - 6 weeks - does anyone do this - I will be ready to plant out summer bedding in a few weeks so removing the daff leaves would be ideal for me.
I think you're supposed to let them die off. I pick the leaves off as they go yellow. But then I've only got a few small clumps. I do the same with tulips.
I do the same as Verd. For daffs it's not as necessary as deadheading perennials or annuals - it's an aesthetic issue mainly.
As nut says - cultivated forms if they're allowed to seed won't always turn out the same so it depends on how much you value any particular varieties.
Leaving the foliage on till it's died back feeds the bulbs to enable them to perform well next year GD
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It's the same as tying the leaves down, I always do, they multiply and grow very well next year. I planted hundreds here.