Help with Spring Bulbs Please!

So, we're renting, and a whole pile of different bulbs popped up in late winter/early spring. Looked lovely! The problem is they've all finished flowering and the leaves have all started to droop and turn yellow....what do I do with them? Obviously I can't pull them out or there won't be any bulbs next year. Can I just chop the leaves off at ground level, and if so, can i do it now or do i wait until they're totally yellow/brown? Or do I wait for them to shrivel up naturally? I've never had bulbs before so I don't know! TIA :)

Just cut them off at ground level. We have heaps of hippeastrums and that's what I've been told to do by the guy at the hippeastrum farm here. I cut the individual flower heads off once they die, then when all the flowers have finished, I cut the stem down to the ground. The leaves I cut off if they are dying or have grubs in them. I love bulbs, they are so beautiful. They just don't last long enough!

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 :)

With daffodils, you tie the left over leaves together in a bundle. They will die down, putting energy into the bulbs. I generally leave the rest, though that's interesting about tulips.

BG - do you lift the tulips now or wait until next year?

Once they completely due off. The all the energy has been absorbed into the bulb. Then they need to dry out. And after that they need to be in the crisper of your fried for about 6 weeks before you plant them next year.

Thanks! So now I'm hoping the RE won't mind the ugly looking patches when they do their inspection next week! Some of the clumps are 1/2m x1/2m!

We've always grown hippeastrums in Qld, but never did anything apart from cut the flower stems off...I miss my hippeastrums now...waaaaah! Having said that, the roses and bulbs here are super beautiful :)