Leave Those Leaves!

By Micaela Truslove
Broomfield County Extension

There is nothing more delightful than early-blooming spring bulbs pushing through the snow; the first sign that spring has arrived. What is less delightful is when the flowers begin to fade, the leaves discolor and flop, and you are left with a clump of sickly looking foliage that is begging to be ripped out and tossed into the compost pile.

But wait! As tempting as it is to tidy things up by chopping off the yellowing foliage, these spring beauties need those fading leaves to feed the bulb for next year's blooms. When the foliage is removed too soon, bulbs may fail to bloom next spring. Tying or braiding the foliage may make things look a little more orderly, but it also reduces the amount of leaf area that is exposed to sunlight, which can interfere with photosynthesis and food storage (and it sounds horribly tedious).

As unattractive as the fading leaves of these tulips are, 

remember to leave those leaves to ensure you'll have 

gorgeous blooms next year.

Do remove the flowers as they fade. This will keep things looking neat longer and helps to conserve the bulb's energy by redirecting that energy back into the bulb and not into seed production. This will also prevent the more unruly bulbs, such as Muscari, from running rampant throughout the garden.

If the weather is warm and dry and the leaves are still going strong, continue to water. It may take four to six weeks before the foliage dies back and is ready to remove. Once this happens, remove it by gently pulling it from the ground (it should come away easily), or trim with scissors.

If you enjoy having spring flowering bulbs, but don't want to look at the unsightly foliage once they are past their prime, consider planting them among perennials that will leaf out in time to disguise the senescing leaves. Try mixing bulbs with coral bells (Heuchera spp.). These come in an ever-growing assortment of colors. Alison's last post has some great suggestions. Bearded iris (Iris germanica) is a great accompaniment to taller bulbs, such as daffodils. Others to try are Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale), Hosta and daylily (Hemerocallis).

Perennials that make you go "Ooooooh!"

Posted by: Alison O'Connor, horticulture agent in Larimer County

I never feel like I’m on top of trends, whether it be clothing, cars or electronics. [Really? It’s not fashionable to wear plaid pajama pants in public?] And when it comes to my garden, I tend to stick with plants that are “tried and true.” Sure, I've planted a few novelties in the past—some make it; others turn into compost. Most of my experiments are planting vegetable cultivars that I never eat.

My brother works for a large wholesale nursery in Oregon, and a few weeks ago I was telling him (whining, really) about all the plants in my garden that didn't make it through the winter. Being the nice brother he is, he sent me a plant care package! With fabulous perennials! I’d heard of a few, but most I had to Google to get an idea of what they looked like...and find out their mature size.

I have a Heuchera (coral bells) collection, which is where most of my "popular" plants are located. Anytime I see a coral bell that I don’t think I have, I buy it or ask Jeff to find it for me (remember he lives in Oregon—the mecca of the plant world). Plus the names make you salivate: Caramel, Southern Comfort, Blackberry Crisp, Chocolate Ruffles, Peach Melba, Lime Marmalade, Berry Smoothie, Grape Soda. Truly, I've lost count of the ones I have...as well as all the name tags. But these plants do really well in my part-sun garden with minimal irrigation. They do need to be mulched prior to winter and are slow to wake up in spring, but I adore coral bells, especially the flowers that dance above the foliage. And hooray—they are rabbit resistant!

[Photo from Terra Nova Nursery: www.terranovanurseries.com]
Blackberry Crisp coral bells

I am also the proud owner of the 2014 Perennial Plant of the Year: Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’. Switchgrass. Just the name alone sounds like fall. Switchgrasses are drought tolerant, sturdy and stay as a nice clump. Northwind’s foliage turns gold in fall. Can’t you just picture the fall sun glinting through the leaves? Wow. A 2014 plant of the year in my garden! Check out more on the Perennial Plant Association.

[Photo from the Perennial Plant Association: www.perennialplant.org]
Northwind switchgrass in fall

Another Panicum in the shipment was ‘Shenandoah’. Jane Rozum, who just graduated from CSU and is now the hort agent in Douglas County, had this species in her ornamental grass trials. Let me tell you—I love this grass. Green foliage turns to maroon foliage in fall with ruby-colored wispy flowers. It is awesome. I’m so excited to welcome this to my landscape. It’s big too, with a height of up to 6’ and 3’ spread.

[Photo by Jane Rozum]
Shenandoah switchgrass

Another grass in the package was prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis). No, this isn’t a new plant or a fancy cultivar, but it’s a fantastic ornamental grass. And guess what? It’s a native! It’s tough, drought tolerant, virtually pest-free and really pretty.

[Photo by Karl Foord, University of Minnesota]
Prairie dropseed

He also sent a Stachys (which most of you know as the genus lamb’s ear). I have an extreme fondness for lamb’s ear. I fell in love with this fuzzy darling during my undergrad and joked that one day I would have a lawn of lamb’s ear in which to roll around. Though many hate the flowers (I simply cut them off) and it’s in the mint family (i.e. aggressive), lamb’s ear is a great selection for spaces where you need to fill large gaps in dry places. But the Stachys my brother sent is actually Stachys officinalis ‘Pink Cotton Candy’ (a cousin of the plant we know). Now, I don’t know much about this plant, except for the pictures I saw online, but it’s a clump-former with pale pink upright flowers. It blooms in early summer and will repeat bloom if flowers are cut back. Has anyone grown this in Colorado…or was this plant so-2004? I'm excited about it.

[Photo from Chicagoland Grows(R): www.chicagolandgrows.org]
Pink Cotton Candy Stachys

[Photo from Chicagoland Grows(R): www.chicagolandgrows.org]
Ooooh...fantastic pink flowers!

I’m looking forward to seeing these plants sleep (first year), creep (second year) and leap (third year). Just like my ginkgo…which, by the way, is fully leafed out!