Cutting Daffodil Foliage to 6 Inches

Timing

• Cut your daffodils' foliage to 6 inches above ground about eight weeks after the last daffodil flower dies back. This two-month waiting period allows the fading foliage to produce energy for the spent bulbs. In fact, you can dig up your daffodil bulbs at that point, separate them and replant them. Several years of growth cause the bulbs to clump and perform poorly as they struggle for natural resources. Bulbs enter dormancy about two months after the last flower. So foliage pruning after that period does not harm the bulbs or their future blossoming potential.

Bulbs and Photosynthesis

• Daffodil bulbs use their fading foliage to generate new, stored blossoms immediately after the last flowering of the growing season. If you cut back the foliage too soon, the leaves cannot maximize their photosynthesis abilities, and so the bulbs may not blossom the next year or may blossom with only limited vigor and small flower heads. Allow the foliage to remain untouched after blossoming, and do not dig up the bulbs directly after the flowers fade. Although the plants may appear lifeless, their leaves diligently produce energy for bulb storage and a blossom display next year.

Foliage Appearance

• Daffodil leaves take on a yellow appearance and a signature papery texture when they are ready for cutting back. As the foliage fades, chlorophyll produces as much energy as possible until the cells die; chlorophyll gives the leaves their green hue. Without active chlorophyll, the leaves appear yellow and cannot photosynthesize anymore. Waiting until daffodil leaves turn yellow, even if the wait is longer than the typical two-month period, allows time for the leaves to provide as much energy as possible to the bulbs' internal flowers. When coupled with a nutrient-rich, full-sun or partially sunny growing site, your daffodils should return vigorously next season.

Disguises

• You can try several strategies to disguise your daffodils' fading foliage during the two-month waiting period. Plant ground-cover or flowering plants near your daffodils to distract eyes from the daffodil foliage. Removing daffodil blossoms as they fade prevents the bulbs from redirecting energy into seed production rather than future flower formation. Carefully fold each daffodil plant's leaves to the sides of the stem, but do not tie them down. Any unnatural leaf restraint,, such as twine or leaf braiding, hinders energy production and affects future flowers.