Garden

[jsc shopper]

In the fall/winter when there are no more flowers and the leaves start to turn brown, do I leave them alone or should I cut them back down to the ground ?

[Lilysmom]

I clean up in the fall and leave about 4 inches so I know where to expect growth in the spring.

[nutter-butter]

If you live in an area where the winter months get well below freezing, I'd leave the old growth until spring. This will help to protect the bulb.

[JustJazzmom]

On 4/28/2014 nutter-butter said:

If you live in an area where the winter months get well below freezing, I'd leave the old growth until spring. This will help to protect the bulb.

Or cut to right above the ground the dead leaves and mulch over the crowns when the ground freezes.

[mousiegirl]

I only ever remove dead leaves, and being in CA, they never die back.

[Tootie15]

I always cut mine down in the fall (usually leaving about 1-2 inches.) We get freezing cold winters and I have never had a problem with them coming back up in the spring.

[luvmyteddy4]

I hate the way they look after they bloom so I always snip the stalk down. Mine come back perfect every year. Don't plant them if you don't want them to take over, I have hundreds now and way too many. Lovely when they bloom but I don't like to see the skinny green stalk sticking up later. I enjoy clipping them everyday. Relaxing.

[Trix]

You can cut the dying leaves back in fall or leave them alone over winter. Either way works. I find the leaves serve as additional winter protection and as a marker, so that when I'm planning the following spring I know exactly where the daylilies grew the year before and can speculate where new growth will be.

One thing about daylilies which isn't a sales pitch is that they can be the lazy gardener's best friend as they don't need any tending to grow and flourish year after year. You could plant them and never go near them again.

[RedTop]

I have had daylillies growing at my house for 20 years. Every year when the leaves dry up and turn brown, my husband goes through with the weedeater and mows them down to the ground. We do nothing special, and every spring they sprout and grow again.

[esmeraldagooch]

I cut them back in the fall. I hate slimy decaying leaves in the spring.