By now many bulbs, especially your spring bulbs should have already expended all their energy for the past season. Therefore, what should be done at this point can be neatly put into a condensed and summarized list of to-do’s in your garden. Read ahead and act accordingly to prepare for next year’s bountiful blooms.

Tip one: Sometimes spring bulbs after blooms have finished, can leave quite an unsightly arrangement of dying or yellowed foliage. Unless, you’re quite the gardener with enough experience to have interplanted to hide this unattractive temporary mess, your garden will soon, if not already, have a lot of unsightly yellowing foliage left behind. The first thing to remember: once a bulb has finished blooming, allow the foliage to yellow.

What this does is allow the plant to die back as expected and store energy for the next year’s growing season. Plants need fresh, new foliage to produce food for the following year’s growth. This is why allowing the foliage to yellow before cutting it back, is quite imperative.

Tip two: If not done already, be sure to do what is known as “interplant” in the garden with annuals or perennials in order to hide those hideous yellowing leaves.

Tip three: Once bulbs complete their blooming cycle, be sure to do away with faded blooms to put an end to the plant setting seed; if allowed to do (set seed) know that this can greatly diminish your plant growth and flower bloom the following year.

Tip Four: Once they have finished producing those beautiful blooms and have the foliage has yellowed, its time to cut back at least six inches from the soil surface. Most of us by now are itching to get rid of the floppy, unsightly foliage.

Tip Five: Now is the time to make sure to either leave in ground (in warmer climates) or lift and store (in colder climates). Should you need to store your spring bulbs, be sure to rework some compost in those areas of your garden and plant some seasonal annuals to give color temporary while the bulbs for that particular area are shut down for the season. Be careful when digging not to damage present bulbs already planted there.

Tip Six: My personal suggestion is to plant some summer bulbs in their place, that way, when the spring ones are leaving the scene, the summer foliage of the summer bulbs are coming on stage for the show. This is an example of interplanting. Remember, do not remove any foliage of the repeat-blooming spring flowering bulbs until they are almost yellow.

Tip Seven: Be sure to give them a slow release fertilizer and this will help them close down successfully (if left in ground), as they prepare for the long sleep. Should your bulbs be stored, place in a dark, cool location but not damp. They should be placed in a cool [55-65°F], well-ventilated and ethylene-free area.

More important Information to know:

As bulbs finish blooming, whether spring or summer bulbs, (as state above) be sure to remove faded blooms to eliminate seed set that reduces bulb growth. In my garden, foliage remains on my bulbs for several weeks. I could hardly wait to get rid of the fallen over gladiolus foliage that in time begins to look tattered.

In a large garden especially, bulbs become overcrowded. Especially here in my tropical, warm, moist and airy climate and eventually, must be divided and then transplanted so I particularly wait to dig up my bulbs until the foliage has turned yellow and withered. Then can the divided bulbs be planted immediately (in warmer climates) to another location in the garden and/or stored in a dry, cool area for replanting in the fall (in colder climates). (Forget even using any bulbs that appear unhealthy).

When you store flower bulbs, be wary of planting near fruit such as apples or pears prior to planting. Ripening fruit produces ethylene, a gas that can cause flower abortion as well as other problems such as wilt and deterioration.

Should you have bulbs in containers, bring container plants indoors in the fall before the first frost, and place in a well-lit area. Then when temperatures begin to rise in the spring, return them to a warm, lighted area.

Last, but not least, stop the watering and remember, to either store in peat moss or sand depending upon the particular bulb.

Well, I hope this helps and educates more about the wonderful world of bulb gardening.