What do I do with the straggly leaves from daffodils etc?

[Sherbert37]

That's it really. They look such a mess I am tempted to cut them off, but I fear that is not the best thing to do? Leaves from the bulbs planted in my garden that is.

You need to leave them alone, the goodness will go back into the bulb for nest year. (Or so my Grandad taught me)

Are they full brown and totally dried out yet and crumble away in your hands? If yes, then you can cut them off. If not, then do not cut them as the bulb is still reabsorbing the nutrients from the leaves ready for next year.

If not totally dry and brown, then just get hold of all the leaves from one plant gather them together in a sort of loose rope and tie them off in a single knot near grond level so they are not straggling eveywhere. Do that for each plant. They will dry out and shrink away then on their own.

Oh sugar!

Cut mine all off when they were still green. Sure I did it last year though and they came up fine this year.

You can braid them. srsly!

I've always left the leaves from daffodils in the lawn until mid May, then mowed them. They come up fine the next year.

Arr gracious - I remember my mum tying knots in all her daffs. Don't think she bothers these days.

Don't tie knots in the poor things - they need the surfaces to be exposed to sunlight to make food to feed the bulb for next year!

neversaydie - you are right while the are green they are photosynthesising and putting nutrients into the bulb.

However, once they go yellow and floppy (a few weeks after the flowers hae dropped off) and they are laid on the ground the bulb is just absorbing the breakdown products of the leaf itself - in effect the leaf is being digested. The bulb is just reabsorbing the nutrients from the breakdown of the leaf structure as they are no longer photosynthesising.

A loose knot or braiding like isenhart7 says is best.

I loosely knot mine, and then they just seem to disappear.

Thanks all. Will wait until they die down then. I remember my grandad knotting his too but you don't see that much these days.