Daffodil Bulbs Information Sheet

Background

Bulbs are a very diverse group of plants that originated from all over the world - Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North and South America. Bulbs developed through adaptation, that amazing ability of all living things to acclimate themselves to the constantly hanging environment of the world. The survival mechanism of a bulb sets it apart from other plants: a self-contained food storage organ that has adapted itself, flower bud and all to live underground. Even after lying dormant for months in conditions of drought, heat or frost, bulbs spring back to life when conditions are right. It is this very hardy, self-contained plant 'bulb' that makes them easy to grow - even by weekend gardeners with limited skill and time!

A bulb needs to be planted only once, and with minimal care will continue to come up and bloom year after year. This is especially true of the Daffodil (a.k.a. Narcissus) which, if undisturbed in its original planting location, can continue to bloom every spring for up to 60 or 70 years!

Use

The advantage of daffodils is this great ability to behave as perennials. Add to that their relatively early blooming period and their dramatic colour display and you have a plant that is indispensable to the home garden. Planted among perennials, they provide solo colour prior to the other plants coming up - which then will conveniently cover the withering daffodil foliage once the flowers are spent.

Another great use for daffodils is to plant them under shrubs and trees that allow some sun penetration - Daffodils can thrive in full sun or partial shade. Combining them with early blooming shrubs such as spirea, rhododendron, magnolia, mahonia and flowering almond can provide lovely displays. Daffodil's bright yellow, orange, cream and salmon tones can also add nice contrast to evergreen shrubs.

Daffodils naturalize very well and can be used among ground covers such as English ivy, periwinkle and Japanese spurge. They can even be naturalized in lawns if you are willing to delay mowing (or carefully mow between the daffodil plants) until after the daffodil foliage has died back - about six weeks after blooming. During this period the daffodil leaves are replenishing the food supply to the bulb, necessary to ensure the next season's blooms. It is important to never trim the foliage until after it has yellowed.

Even after the foliage has died back, bulbs continue to undergo chemical and growth changes underground through the summer, fall and winter - preparation for blooming in the spring!

Planting

Spring flowering bulbs are available in fall and should be planted as soon as possible after purchase. A location with full sun or partial shade is best. Store bulbs in a cool, dry place if later planting is necessary.

Always take the opportunity to improve garden soil when putting in new plants or bulbs. Begin by loosening the soil to a depth of 12 - 15 inches using a garden fork. For a large area a power tiller can be used. Then mix in a 2 to 4 inch layer of compost. A once yearly addition of 2 inches of compost as a top dressing will keep your garden soil healthy and provide nutrients to the bulbs. In situations where digging in compost will damage existing plants root systems, mix in a handful of compost with each bulb planted, and top dress the entire bed with a 2 inch layer.

As a general rule of thumb, bulbs should be planted about three times the depth of their diameter. For daffodils, this is about 7- 8 inches (17 - 20 cm). They can planted up to 6-7 inches apart or further, depending on the type of display you prefer. Ideally, bulbs are watered in after planting, however most often fall rains accomplish this for you.

It has been said that no flowers welcome spring with more dramatic beauty than daffodils; nor can any other flowers be planted with more assurance of success. Given a minimum amount of care, most daffodils will not only continue to bloom for decades, but will increase abundantly as well!

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