Bulbs FAQs
I have two questions on Alliums [Ornamental Onions]. If I leave the seed heads on to display long after the flowers have gone, will this make the bulbs weaker next year? When is the best time to move them?
Leaving the seed heads on will not appreciably weaken the bulbs and they can look lovely left on. It might pay to move the bulbs when the foliage is brown, because they may be hard to find later. Moving when the goodness has gone back into the bulb, but before they are fully dormant shouldn't matter and new ones will soon be available for autumn planting.
How do I store bulbs for use next year? I normally leave them in the ground quite successfully but don't want the tatty stems messing up the border!
You don't have to lift most bulbs, especially daffodils. When the leaves start to go yellow, you can remove them. If you can plant them behind perennial plants that produce lots of early foliage, such as Astilbes, hardy Geraniums, Alchemilla, etc that will hide the leaves. If you do decide to lift them, and it pays to do so for most tulips, you can lift them when the foliage starts to die back and dry them off in an airy dry place like a garage or the top shelf in a greenhouse. When the leaves are dead they should snap off just above the new bulb. The leaves should be left on as long as possible because the goodness from them is building next years bulbs.
Included in my garden is a small grove of mature beech trees. Over the years, I have planted hundreds of snowdrops, crocuses, bluebells, aconites, daffodils & Cyclamen among the trees, but few survive, and none thrive,suggestions?
I suspect the problem is that beech trees have their roots very near the surface and the competition is just too great for even bulbs to thrive. If you look at mature beech woodlands there is often no other plants growing underneath and those that were there when the trees were small gradually disappear. Beech are probably the worst offenders. I would expect Cyclamen to be the most successful of your list. Snowdrops really need cool damp soil to flourish and I bet that is the last description you would use for the soil under your beech. I suggest that you plant the bulbs elsewhere in your garden in future. If it were other tree species you might succeed. The soil type and height above sea level will not prevent the bulbs thriving.