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You should never plant or select bulbs that have a
soft spongy feel - always go for good firm bulbs when buying.
With bulbs that are to be left in the garden after
flowering, you should rake up a little soil over the neck of the
withering foliage just after the flowers have finished. This prevents
the Narcissus fly from laying its eggs in the crown of the bulb to a
certain extent.
the damage being caused by the maggot of the fly will
rarely be seen for the foliage will normally be dying down after
flowering anyway. The grub continues to feed - hollowing out the core of
the bulb. The grub is happy to stay in the bulb overwinter and then
emerge the following spring as it warms up, pupating and ready - as an
adult narcissus Fly - to re-start the life cycle of laying eggs in the
crown of withering bulb foliage.
The effects of this are sometimes known as Bulb
Blindness, and indeed the bulb will have no flower. However, if the bulb
is left, then it will renew itself over two to three years and start
flowering again.
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