How can I cut back my dillydallies while I’m cleaning out flower bed

Melanie Sellers
by Melanie Sellers



  5 answers
  • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Oct 24, 2018

    Don't cut them back at all!Waituntil the leaves are brown then gently pull them off of plant. you can reduce them by taking a sharp shovel and stick it into plant & remove part of the base clump refill empty area with dirt then take removed clump of tubers and replant or separate each tuber and replant for even more.Daylilies do best when the clumps are left alone and the tubers & roots are crowded they'll produce more blooms the plants sends less of it's energy to the roots and more up top. When the leaves/plants are dying back/turning brown(photosynthesis) it's an important part of the plants life cycle the opposite is happening the plant is sending all the energy back into the root system.All perennials,biennials,tubers,bulbs need to go thru this process Sometimes I even wait until spring when I see new shoots emerging then remove dead leaves this gives the plants a protective layer and the nutrients from dead matter go back into ground like compost. Mother nature works well by herself we humans like a tidy garden so the brown we do not want,but it serves a purpose too.

  • Melanie Sellers Melanie Sellers on Oct 24, 2018

    Thanks.

  • MCH MCH on Oct 24, 2018

    I cut mine all the way down. They come back in the spring.

  • Kelli L. Milligan Kelli L. Milligan on Oct 24, 2018

    You don't, Lynn told you all you need to know.

  • Jeanne Grunert Jeanne Grunert on Oct 26, 2018

    Cut off any dead leaves and rake them up. Leave the leaves until they turn brown as they are making food for the plants. Once they turn brown, you can cut them all the way back.