Bulb foliage dying back after flowering
The six weeks after a spring bulb flowers, during which the leaves yellow, flop and look thoroughly untidy. This is the bulb rebuilding next year's flower out of those leaves, and it is the single most useful thing to leave alone in a garden — cutting, mowing, knotting or folding the foliage is why bulbs stop flowering after a year or two.
What brings it on
Follows flowering, every year, in every spring bulb. The timing rather than the appearance is what identifies it.
source
Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Usually seen: May, June
Dealing with it once it is there
- Leave the foliage entirely alone until it has yellowed of its own accord, roughly six weeks after the flowers finish. Then cut it away.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Narcissus — aftercare
Checked 2026-08-13
What it affects
Signs that lead here
Each of these lists the other things that produce the same sign, and how to tell them apart.
On sprays and treatments
GrowingHQ does not tell anyone what to apply, at what rate, or how often. Pesticide approvals differ by country, change without notice, and the product label is legally binding — it is also the document you are holding. What is described here is cultural and physical control, which is what a home grower can act on without a label in front of them.
Plant-specific guides
Where this is one of several causes that look alike on a particular plant, GrowingHQ publishes the differential rather than the general answer.