Take daffodils as a given?
I’m flooded with images of snowdrops on Twitter. They’re beautiful. Snowdrops are the first sound of spring. They’re sweet and innocent.
From late March, tulips are a stunning sight. Instagram is also awash with tulips and snowdrops.
The daffodils are the stars in the middle, and they get very little attention. Please let me know what you think!
Daffodils take over my garden for 5-6 weeks after the snowdrops are gone, and before the tulips begin to show off. Lottie, the saluki-cross, agrees.
Daffodils are easy to grow and require little care. They return year after year. According to the Daffodil Society, most daffodils outlive us. They grow in my garden where nothing else can because they don’t care about the soil.
What are the different types of daffodil?
Wordsworth’s “host of golden Daffodils” suggests that all daffodils were yellow. There are actually 27,000 hybrid daffodils. Garden designer and blogger Carole of Here By Design states that ‘depending who you ask, there are 40 to 200 species and 32,000 hybrids’.
Snowdrops are a better comparison. Snowdrops are 40 species and only hundreds of hybrids. Snowdrop enthusiasts are known as ‘galanthophiles,’ and these varieties are discussed and photographed endlessly by name.
When I interviewed two daffodil enthusiasts who used to open up their garden in spring for the NGS, they said that they didn’t care too much about daffodil name. Some have been in the garden for more than 50 years. We can’t keep track of their names.
This frivolous, double-flowered daffodil could be either “Gresham” or “Replete”. Daffodil lovers tell me the double-flowered ones are less resistant to rain and more susceptible to slugs. The one in my yard, on the other hand, appears to be fine.
How do you choose daffodils then?
I’ve heard from daffodil lovers that they always buy a mixture of the early, mid and later flowering varieties. You can always expect daffodils to be in bloom from late February through early March if you don’t keep track of the names.
You can also choose a single colour, which is usually white, or a variety of shades of yellow, from rich gold through to pale primrose. You can also choose bi-coloured daffodils with different colours on the outer petals and inner cup.
There’s something beautiful about a daffodil that is all white.
The third thing you should look out for is if it has a “short cup” or a “trumpet”. The trumpet of a daffodil is larger than the outer petals. The centre of the short cup daffodil is more like a small cup.
Daffodils come in different sizes and shapes of trumpets and cups. It’s just as good as meditation.
Look around your garden to find the differences. It’s like a meditation.
You don’t really need to know more. It’s no wonder that people don’t mention daffodils very often. It’s because they aren’t difficult enough.
The trumpet of a ‘trumpet daffodil’ is longer than its surrounding petals.
Daffodils return year after year
Every year, people worry about which tulips will return best. Daffodils never cause me any concern. Some of my daffodil-loving friends still have daffodils that their parents planted over 50 years ago.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that each daffodil will return. Daffodils may be dug by squirrels, or fail to bloom. They may rot if you have a very wet soil. Most daffodils will return.
Look for daffodils that “naturalise” well. Most bulb suppliers have a section of daffodil bulbs that “naturalise”.
Why aren’t the daffodils in my garden flowering?
Last year, you may have cleaned them too soon.
Leave the leaves on even after the flowering is finished. For the next year’s flower, they need to collect nutrition from the earth and sun for at least six to eight weeks. You won’t get flowers the next year if you remove the leaves too early.
Sometimes daffodils ‘go blind’. Even if the leaves are still on, they stop blooming. Daffodil enthusiasts don’t believe there is much that can be done if this happens twice in a row. You can try to dig them up, divide them and give them fertiliser.
If your daffodils don’t bloom after this, you can dig them up and toss them out.
Do daffodils need dividing?
Daffodils that have grown into large clumps need to be divided. They will not flower well if they are too crowded. This happens probably every five years. You’ll get a lot of free daffodils.
You can lift them and divide after they have flowered, or while the leaves are still attached. Replant them as soon as possible, adding an all-purpose fertilizer or mulch. Keep well-watered.
It was also suggested to dig them in the fall when they are underground. I’m not sure how to dig up bulbs you can’t even see, without cutting them with your spade. Daffodils don’t seem to mind what method you use, as they are easy-going.
Where to plant daffodils
Here’s where the daffodils shine brightest.
Plant daffodils in the shade of deciduous shrubs and trees. There will be little else to grow in the shade of deciduous trees and shrubs during the summer, because the leaves will cover the ground. When the leaves fall off in autumn, trees and shrubs won’t have them until late spring.
Daffodils can fill this space with their beautiful flowers.
I have a group of deciduous shrubs and trees that lose their leaves during winter. Daffodils, and other bulbs, grow very well under these trees. They make a beautiful focal point for spring. This part of the border gets too shady to support much else during the rest of year.
In summer, my main display is my sunny main border. It’s too full of perennials for daffodils. There is a beautiful display of daffodils under the silver birch tree, cotinus, and a small shrub of hibiscus in spring.
You can plant them anywhere in your garden. Under evergreen shrubs and trees, they won’t do well. They won’t grow well under evergreen trees and shrubs. In the past I have planted daffodils in my garden, but none of them are flowering along my north-facing fence, which is full of evergreen trees. Even the obliging, daffodil is limited!
The soil is not important to them.
It’s probably the most difficult area in my garden to plant. It is shady, dry and surrounded by a huge tree and old wall. It is a sunny spot, but it’s south-facing so the narcissi will flower even when the leaves have fallen off.
Planting daffodils on your lawn is possible, but you must be prepared to allow the grass to grow for 6-8 weeks following the flowering.
Here’s some more information about spring bulb planting.
How to plant daffodils
Planting daffodils according to the Daffodil Society is easy. Dig a hole, and then drop the daffodils in.
The advice on the depth of the hole is varied. I’ve seen that daffodils should be planted so that the bulb is at least 2” high.
Others recommend that the bulbs be planted at a depth twice as deep as the bulb’s height. Some people recommend planting the bulbs at a depth that is twice the height of each bulb.
You can also plant your bulbs at a 4″ or 10cm depth.
We don’t have to worry about the differences between 2 and 4 inches. You get the idea. All or some of these suggestions may work.
The daffodils will not grow as well if you plant them too deeply (around 10-12 ”),).
Our predecessors planted these daffodils in this garden. Maybe even by those who lived in the house before them. We’ve lost all the names.
Can you grow daffodils inside a pot?
Daffodils do grow well in pots.
You can plant them into the garden after they have finished flowering if you wish.
The following year, if you have daffodils which were ‘forced to’ flower (for indoor use), they will probably not flower. After that, they’ll probably bloom.
You can also leave the pots alone. When growing plants, always feed and water them. The soil in the pot is very deficient in nutrients.
Once the foliage is dead, you don’t have to do anything else. I’ve left pots of daffodils unattended all summer long and they still bloomed the next spring.
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