How long should you leave the stem and leaves on flowering bulbs after they bloom?
You can remove the bloom stem anytime you want for cut flowers. You want to remove it as soon as the flower begins to wilts. It’s better to be a bit early than lateThe only purpose of the flower is to make a fruit and seeds. Once it starts doing that, it is taking energy from the plant that you want to go towards new blooms, if any that year, and to future growth. You can remove the leaves once they too begin to droop and take on a yellowish or dried look. It’s OK to be a little late on that, you don’t want to be too soon. The leaves are making food to store in the bulb for next year’s blooms.
