Maintenance

Watering

Your bulbs will need plenty of water while they grow. Keep watering after they flower for about 6 weeks, the leaves will then die down and the bulb will become dormant, don't forget to give your summer-flowering bulbs some extra water during dry spells.

Make sure your bulbs in containers don't dry out. Water them thoroughly until the compost is moist but not soggy.

Feeding

Feeding your bulbs with high-potassium fertiliser every 7-10 days will promote great flowering next year too. Start to feed them when the shoots appear, and stop as the leaves die down later in the season.

Vigorous summer-flowering tubers & rhizomes will benefit from a high-potash liquid feed every 2 weeks during flowering.

Deadheading

Cut off the dead flowers at the base of the stalk. Unlike with lots of plants, for true bulbs and corms, this doesn't stimulate further flower growth, but it is important as it stops the plant from wasting energy on making seeds. We want the plant to put as much goodness as possible back into the bulb ready for next year. With rhizomes, you will see further flowering as a result of deadheading.

For true bulbs & corms, keep watering and fertilising until the dead leaves are yellow and straw-like, about 6 weeks after flowering. This ensures you give the plant plenty of time to send food back into the bulb.