Daffodils After the Blossoms Are Gone
Daffodils are early spring bloomers and their blossoms have all but faded from the garden; I have just a few clumps that are now in bloom. Now the question is how to handle all the blades left standing in the flower beds. There is a bad practice for handling daffodil blades, and that is the practice of braiding. The daffodil blossoms are gone; however, the plant is now storing energy in the bulb before it goes dormant. The problem with braiding is that it restricts the flow from the blades to the bulb, reducing the amount of energy stored in the bulb for next year. It also goes without saying that under no circumstances should you cut the blades back as this prevents the plant from storing any energy in the bulb.
As shown in the photograph, the best way to handle the blades to make room in the flower beds for other plants is to carefully push the blades over. You want to avoid twisting or breaking the blades. This method does not restrict the flow of nutrients being produced in the blades to reach the bulbs. Furthermore, it is much quicker than braiding; I would hate to think of the time it would take me to braid all the daffodils growing in my gardens. If you have daffodils growing away from other flowers in independent beds, then the best thing to do is nothing
This method is the one that has been used in our gardens for years, and from the show of daffodil blossoms we have each spring, I know it works. For those that have been braiding their daffodils, I hope they will now reconsider the practice.
3 comments
You really know flowers. I could learn so much from you! 
Thanks for this information. I had never heard of braiding daffodils. Most people I know who grow them just do nothing, as you stated for those who have beds used entirely for the daffodils, but I can certainly see that people who use their beds for later plants would be wanting to find some way to move aside the leaves to give other plants growing room. 
I planted some red salvias between the daffodils today. The daffodils will go dormant and the blades will yellow and die back to the ground. The dead blades will actually become a mulch and I leave them in the beds if they are not in the way. This post has 1 feedback awaiting moderation...