Why do gardeners twist & knot the leaves of bulb flowers?

Not sure how to describe this as I don't know what the group of plants is called.


I'm talking about flowering plants like daffodils. When the flowers die off and it's autumn clean up time, I see lots of these plants with their leaves all bunched together and tied in a knot.


I've just done it with one of my plants because it seems to be what you do, but I don't know why!

Why do gardeners twist %26amp; knot the leaves of bulb flowers?
Some folks just have this urge to "tidy up". Cutting the leaves removes valuable nutrients that can be transferred to the bulb, so that's not a good idea. Tying the leaves reduces the photosynthetic area, so there's also less going to the bulb than if the neatfreak had left things alone, but it's far less of a hit to the bulb than cutting the leaves.
Reply:Usually it's daffodils and narcissus. I think it's done partly to be tidy, but may also be so that the gardeners can identify where the bulbs are when they lift them for storage.





I prefer to leave my bulbs in situ, I deadhead then let the leaves die down naturally, absorbing nutrients for next year, and they multiply.


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Reply:yes ... as everyone before has answered, to keep tidy instead of cutting as the bulb needs the nutrients.





I also use it to keep track of which bulbs are which. Helps when transplanting to know what the bulbs actually are. I sometimes attach a tag to the leaves and label accordingly.
Reply:The green leaves contain nutrients for the bulbs so you don't want to cut them off. They look bad if they just hang all over the place so tied in a knot keeps them together and neat looking and the nutrients can go to the bulbs.
Reply:Simple answer is to keep it looking tidy.
Reply:I do it because when you are raking these leave get in the way, and the bulbs are still receiving nutrients from them, I believe that's why you see most gardeners doing this.
Reply:I'm not answering this question as such because until i read the other answers, i hadn't got a clue! Just wanted to say thanks for asking it and thanks to those who answered, i've always wondered about this and now i know.


Worth a star.
Reply:The leaves which are left after flowering make food which is stored in the bulb underground for the next years growth which is why they are not cut off until dead. The knotting plaiting etc is for the sake of tidyness.
Reply:just to add to what kay said, they're best left completely alone if you want them to flower well next year. Gardening is all about patience and letting things just take their course, even if it means a bit of mess.