Your tulips and daffodils have stopped flowering and now you're not sure what to do with them. Never fear, Paul Hoek from NZ Bulbs has given us his top tips for growing great tulips and divine daffodils. 

Paul says it's important you remove the flowerheads or any developing seed pods from your tulips and daffodils to stop their energy going into seed production.

"This will allow the bulb to concentrate on growing as much as possible for next season."

While Paul says you need to remove the flowerheads, he says DON'T touch the leaves. 

"If you remove any of the leaves before they have died back of their own accord it will result in smaller bulbs and poorer flowering the following season," says Paul.

"The longer you can keep the leaves green (end of November or later) the bigger the bulb will grow and the better it will flower next season."

That's why next Paul says it's important you continue to water the bulbs after flowering has finished to keep the leaves green as long as possible. 

"Water the bulbs until the leaves die back naturally."

When the bulbs have finished flowering is also a great time to give them some fertiliser to boost bulb growth.

"Try giving them a good balanced fertiliser. It's important  to avoid any that have high nitrogen levels, but make sure it has good levels of potassium. Too much nitrogen can encourage basal rot in bulbs as well as a lot of green growth at the expense of flowering. Potassium encourages flowering."

Paul says most garden centres sell bulb fertiliser but if you have potato or rose fertiliser in your garden shed, these will also work well. 

When you fertilise your daffodils it's also a good idea to spray some neem oil around the plants to deter narcissus fly from laying eggs at the leaf bases.

This only applies to your daffodils, not tulips. Pauls says if your daffodils haven't produced many flowers this season they could have been infected with narcissus fly which lays eggs at the leaf base at this time of year.

"The eggs hatch and the grubs burrow down into the bulbs where they munch up the centre of it - exactly where your bulb is developing the flower for next year! Spray every few weeks with neem oil to deter the fly from landing on your daffodils."

Another reason daffodils may not have produced many flowers is they have become too crowded.  Daffodils can be left in the ground for up to four years before they start to become crowded.

If you think this is the case, Paul suggests digging them up and splitting  in summer when they are dormant. 

If you live in a warmer area of NZ that doesn't get five frosts a winter, or planted your tulips in pots, Paul says you should lift your tulip bulbs (only after the leaves have died right back) so you can chill them prior to re-planting in April next year.

"Tulips need a cold period for the bulb to complete the development of the flower bud deep inside. Insufficient cold period results in either no flower or flowers on short stems."

Once you've lifted your tulip bulbs, store them in a warm, airy place until it's time to start chilling them in early March

"Watch them carefully in storage so they don’t become infested with aphids. If you do find aphids, give them a quick spray with fly spray."

And remember, if you're after more tulip and daffodil bulbs for next year, look no further than the wide range available at NZ Bulbs. And if you'd like to receive their beautiful printed catalogues that go out every season, click here.