Before
So, remember your bulbs coming up, budding, then blooming? I bet you said to yourself WOW [self], I love my BULBS!
But then, the blooms fade in color, petals start to drop and eventually….they look like this. And it’s May now, so of course you are getting the itch to to plant your annuals….
- Yuk…
But, you ask yourself, where do I put them (the annuals that is???) You have a couple of choices.
1) Get a bag of rubber bands. Carefully take the foliage, roll it down to the soil level, and put a rubber band around the leaves. (probably have to wrap them a couple of times) This will allow you to get the foliage out-of-the-way so you can plant your annuals.
2) Yes, you guessed it, rubber bands and foliage is a pain in the neck. So, heck…let the foliage die back naturally (it will yellow out and fall of naturally, but it will take weeks). You see, the bulb has to replenish energy for the following year so let it go. After the foliage dies back and comes off, plant away.
3) THROW THEM OUT! I struggle with it every year but I pull out the bulbs, cultivate the soil and then plant my annuals. So what do I do the following fall? I purchase another couple of hundred bulbs, and plant away. This method enables me to change colors, change arrangement and have some fun.
Professionally, Emil Yedowitz Landscaping and Irrigation Solutions practices #2 and #3 above. We rarely tie up the foliage…it simply takes too long. So I advise my customers to either let the foliage die back naturally or pull them out. If you want to chat further about this, feel free to give me a call in the office (914) 377-9039.
