Try and leave them as long as you can before cutting them off. While they still have some life in the leaves they are putting energy into the bulb ready for next year

We just leave our simple bulbs to do their own thing. The only really temperamental bulbs are tulips, because they're not really bred for our climate, so to get a good show they should be lifted and seperated and refrigerated for a period next autumn/winter. Everything else we get rid if the leave once they are dead, and leave as is. Our hippies have been cut right back and seperated twice in seven years. They've managed to stay green all year so we are letting them go. We got them from my nan who let them naturalise and did nothing with them so that's eggs we are doing