Growing Daffodils

Daffodils - In mid-March when winter blues overtake you and it’s hard to find a clear patch in the grey overcast above, I look out my front door and find a spot of sunshine in my newly growing flower garden.

Famous for the bright yellows of cultivars like jonquils and the yellow trumpet, these flowers also come in thousands of colors that range from the demure whites of paper-whites to peach and on to bold orange.

A big advantage is that they are prolific in multiplication. While many other types of bulbs dwindle in a few short years, with minimal care, a planting of daffodil bulbs will last a lifetime!

Coming in all sizes from 5-inch blooms on 2-foot stems to half-inch flowers on 2-inch stems. Along with the harbingers of spring, there are also cultivars in mid and late season varieties. Providing an assortment of sizes, colors, and bloom-times gives you an irresistible display that carries through spring into summer.

Although they can be grown from seed, it takes up to five years to achieve a blooming plant. If you want blooming daffodils in the spring, bulbs need to be planted in the fall. For success in growing, plant bulbs deep—six to eight inches down from the top (pointy end) of the bulb—where they will get plenty of sun. Also important for growing is a location with good drainage. These beauties like water, but they can’t swim!

Less is more when growing daffodils. Always space your bulbs according to the package directions. It’s important to not forget that they are prolific in bulb propagation. Planting too closely together results in a crowd of bulbs that fight each other for growing room!

One common mistake you can make when growing is to cut back the foliage after the flowers finish blooming. After your bloom, they’ll start rebuilding their bulbs in preparation for the next year. During this time, the plants use foliage to collect both moisture and sunlight, so keeping them watered during this period is also important.