Deadheading Snowdrops

DampGardenMan

Now that the snowdrops that I do have (many didn't come up this year, or were chewed off at ground level) are going over, is it in any way advantageous to deadhead them? Would that allow the plant to put more energy into building a bigger bulb for next year rather than producing seed?

nutcutlet

I've never considered that, if they're singles and you let them seed you'll get a more natural looking group quicker. 

DampGardenMan

There is a good big patch of singles planted by previous owners, and I'll leave those be. It's the straggly little patches that I planted where I'm thinking of doing it in the hope of getting a better showing next year. Once they start to come up regularly I'll let them do their own thing.

Lizzie27

Not sure about deadheading them -never done it but you could try sprinkling some bonemeal around them which I understand helps them in flower production the following year.

Fairygirl

If they're in the right location, with suitable conditions, to start with, they'll seed around and multiply very quickly 
I've never deadheaded any either. If you add some leaf mould around them each year, that benefits them, as it's the kind of medium that suits them best.
Helps retain moisture too, so it's beneficial if they haven't naturally got cover/shade  from other planting, causing them to get a bit dried out over the summer. 

DampGardenMan

They certainly spread in my previous garden - planted a 1000 about 25 years ago and never looked back. Many of them were thriving in just an inch or so of woodchip on top of a permeable membrane!

The ones in our new garden are mostly planted in the shade, under trees and shrubs so there's lots of leaf mould. The soil is reasonable. Being under trees and shrubs it's possible that moisture is the problem, especially given the baking conditions of last summer. And some that would have come up have been nibbled off to ground-level. Not sure, yet, what's doing this but it's going to get a stiff talking-to ...

Lyn

I always leave them to self seed, but do split the clumps ever so often, like daffs they get too congested.  Never fed them.

DampGardenMan

I certainly never fed them in my previous garden, nor split them even, and they thrived. Just not here, at least not so far. Maybe I'm expecting too much from an initial planting.

Lyn

Mine thrive, but as the clumps get so thick I think flowering decreases. 
I’m in the throes of digging  them out of the lawn and planting them on the grass verge outside. 
Was going to put a photo on but site doing a flippy at the moment!