Everything You Need to Know About Daffodil Bulbs

• Daffodil bulbs are one of the most important flowering bulbs in the United States, and in the Southern States the daffodil bulbs will live for many years and are considered the most important flowering bulb for a number of reasons. Daffodil plants and bulbs are extremely cold hardy to USDA climate zones of 3 -9, and once planted, the daffodil bulb increases in size by dividing into bulblet separation from the mother bulb, and eventually, large clumps form. After growing for 3 years, a clump may contain 25 daffodil bulbs or more. These clumps should be divided about every 4 years, because the clump begins to bury itself deeper each year and the daffodil flowers become smaller and smaller, until the clump is divided into individual bulbs and replanted. As the roots of these daffodil bulbs grow each year, the bulb is self-planted deeper following the leaves color change to yellow and entrance into dormancy during the early summer. While the bulbs are resting and dormant during the entire summer, the commercial growers dig them for curing, sorting by size and a chilling treatment for 15 weeks at a very cool temperature that is necessary to ripen them for sure-fire blooming in the fall season in the South and in the spring in the Northern States. When planted in pots the daffodils can be forced to bloom sooner by florists or by the home gardener who wishes to have containerized flowering plants during the fall and winter.

• Daffodils plants bloom in many colors, the most common and popular colors being white, yellow and bi-color, but there are many other color shades of pink cream, orange, salmon and the rarest color, red. Bi-colored flowers can alternate in various color patterns, and some daffodil and jonquil flowers form double layers of flower petals like a rose or carnation. All daffodil flowers are treasured for their extreme fragrance Most daffodil bulbs grow flat leaves, some grooved, but jonquils grow round, hollow leaves that are pointed, and the flowers of daffodil plants are smaller and more numerous (4 or more), whereas, daffodil flowers grow normally with only one large flower per stem. Both daffodil bulbs and jonquil bulbs are correctly named: 'Narcissus,,' singular and 'Narcissi,' plural. Most Daffodil bulbs grow into plants 12 -18 inches tall, except for the miniatures that grow 6 – 12 inches, and the dwarf or miniature daffodils are normally potted for forcing into early bloom, or they can be planted in rock gardens or in front of taller daffodil bulb cultivars that flower into a dramatic, unfolding, colorama when planted close together in large beds. Most daffodils bulbs are planted out-of-doors in groups of 6 - 8, or they can be massively planted into huge landscape beds in urban or park city scapes.

• After flowering the leaves should be allowed to turn yellow and the daffodil bulbs are allowed to shrink up before digging the clumps during the summer for replanting – usually after 4 years, and the best fertilizer to apply is 10-10-10 with extra applications of bonemeal that contains high concentrations of phosphorous, a chemical element that triggers powerful vivid flowering. Daffodil plants do not normally have any requirement for being watered, unless they are to be potted for forcing for out-of-season flowers.

• Narcissus bulbs all contain alkaloid poisons that make them rabbit and deer-proof, and animal pets, such as dogs seem to instinctively know to avoid all poisonous parts of daffodil plants, whether growing outside or in containers. Vineyard owners and fruit orchard growers often plant a few daffodils at the base of their berry and grape plants or fruit trees, especially protecting the fresh bark of the trees and the fleshy roots, and the growing daffodils poisonous parts will prevent rodent damage and deer damage, since the plants parts are poisonous for them to eat which these wild and domestic animals seem to instinctively avoid.