Daffodils

DAFFODILS  / NARCISSUS

Externally hardy and long lived, daffodils will brighten your spring garden
every year with very little care.

Of all the beautiful spring flowering bulbs from early snowdrops to late blooming tulips, few are more dependable than daffodils.  For a reliable display you can count on year after year, these popular perennials  will give you 'the big bang'  for your time and money.

All parts of daffodils are toxic so deer and other wildlife pass it by as they devour the other plants in the environment. If you live in an area with deer, daffodils are one of the few fool proof plants you can count on.

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Deer will devour almost everything in sight but pass daffodils by,
leaving them to bloom for our enjoyment.

Once properly planted daffodils will come back for many years, blooming in early spring with very little care.

There is a long standing debate on the correct name, Narcissus, Daffodils  or Jonquils.  In this article I am simply going to use the most common name in our area, daffodils for all of them.

Trumpet shape flowers which begin to bloom in April, daffodils have a large selection of color patterns to choose from. The most popular yellow will brighten up any garden from the front door to large displays in back yards or even in open fields. In addition pure white flowers are available as well as mixed trumpets blends of two or three colors on the same flower.

For the largest variety of  daffodils and the best quality of  bulbs
order them from a good catalog company. 

Easy to plant, place the 'bottom' of the bulbs six to eight inches in the ground, 5 to 6 " apart. They will fill in quickly.

The bulb is a storage chamber supplying everything the daffodil needs to
survive until next spring.

In our clay soil and handful of chopped leaves will lighten the soil and help with drainage. If you don't have leaves take advantage of your neighbors who mow their leaves and put them on the street.

There are so many color combinations such as 'Fragrant Breeze' you can to to your daffodil display
every year for more interest and impact. 

 After daffodils have bloomed leave the green leaves until they turn yellow before cutting them back. These leaves will supply the energy for next year's bloom.  One of the few drawback of daffodils is that these leaves will remain until early June. When planting my summer flowering plants, I simply push the greens aside and put the new flowers between them. They quickly over grow the yellowing leaves and draw attention away from them.

One of the few yearly task you should do to help your daffodils remain viable is to cut off the dead flowers after they have bloomed, a technique known as dead-heading. This will force the bulbs to transfer major energy from setting seed into producing next year's flowers and ensuring a healthier bulb to survive the winter. I also sprinkle  a fertilizer such as bulb tone around the greens when dead-heading the flowers.

When your daffodils have become overcrowded they will flower less. This is the time to lift
them out of the ground, gently wiggle apart and replant them to increase your display.
 

If your flowers begin to dwindle it's time to dig up the bulbs and divide them. This should be required only once every ten years. This process will re-new your bulbs and double your stock.

Hybridizing daffodils has created  color blends and textures that are dramatically
different from the original trumpet parent plants.
Above: Double Narcissus 'Cherefulness' 

Happy Gardening,

 James