Should I dead-head these bluebells?

[newgarden722]

I have quite a few bluebells in my garden (the Spanish variety I believe). They’ve just finished flowering and as I’m in the process of tidying up my garden, I’m wondering what to do with the dead flowers. Is it best to cut them off and if so, how far down do I cut? Thanks!

Yes, I think so - partly so the plant doesn't waste energy setting seed, but also if it's Spanish you don't want to encourage seeding.

(nearly always forget to do mine)

Thanks @ErrolTheDragon! How far down should I cut the flower stems? (Sorry - total novice here)

Yes, dead-head them - follow the stem down as far as possible and cut there.

I've got lots of these, just grasp the stems in bunches and tug, they lift out leaving the rest of the plant behind, its very satisfying.

Just pull the stems and they should come right out

Can we also pull away the foliage? I have masses and masses of them in beds and would like to be able to see my other plants!

I would leave the leaves for a little longer to feed the bulbs.

I dug all my spanish bluebells up this week. The leaves are dreadful and they cross pollinate with native flowers, trashing the genome. Or so I read.

When I pulled mine out there were white bits at the ends - this is ok isn’t it? I haven’t pulled the bulbs out? I’m a gardening novice

As someone else said, I’m not particularly keen on the masses of leaves either - especially when they turn all slimy!

If you take the leaves off before they've finished doing their job making food to store in the bulb, you're likely to get fewer flowers next year.

Hmm. Maybe I’ll dig some of them out - they’ve definitely multiplied since last summer.

I dig them all out every few years and still seem to get just plenty of flowers the next year but it keeps them a bit thinner. They don't spread into grass but have filled my border (its shady so not much else grows there).