The wild jonquils proliferating and blooming in the Southeastern USA do not flower if moved to the north. The bulbs may be virused. Many plant viruses attack daffodils. Over time, an infected plant loses its vigor, puts up smaller, weakened leaves and stems, stops blooming, and finally dies. Yellow stripe shows as fine streaks of yellow the length of the leaves. It appears as the leaves emerge. The plant is weakened by the second year. Mosaic only appears as white blotches on the yellow flowers where the petals lose their color.
Plant vigor seems unaffected. Both these diseases are contagious to other daffodils and incurable. Dig and throw away the bulbs. Growing conditions the previous Spring may have been inhospitable — the reformation of the bulb was affected. An early heat wave may have shut down bulb rebuilding before it was complete. The bulbs may have been grown in a smallish pot without adequate feeding or protection from heat and cold. Solution: Lift and divide them.
If planted in the dark recesses of your garden, your daffodils will grow weaker each season until they no longer have the stored energy to develop a flowerbud. Solution: Dig them up and move them to a bed where they get about six hours of sunshine each day. If you have had an unusually mild winter or you live in the Deep South where the only sure bet is planting paperwhite narcissus, such as Ziva or Galilee, your bulbs may not have had enough cold weather to break dormancy.
Solution: Purchase precooled bulbs, or plant your bulbs in containers where they will be more exposed to any cold weather you get.
If the leaves were removed prematurely, either by a late freeze or an impatient gardener, the bulbs cannot replenish their energy reserves for the following season. The may have enough left to grow leaves, but flowering will have to wait until they gain strength. Yes — if they receive ample sunlight, moisture and food don't forget this last item , and if you let their foliage wither naturally — your daffodils will most certainly greet you with blooms next spring.
I was so disappointed this year when all the beautiful daffodils I expected had last year came up but didn't bloom! Last year before they were all dried out, my goats got out and ate most of them down. I guess that is why they didn't bloom this year. I am glad to know that I should be able to expect them next year, if I allow the stalks to dry out before I cut them off.
Laurie — Very interesting…deer won't eat daffodils, but goats will! I learn something new every day. Be sure to feed your bulbs now — while they are forming embryo flowers for next year's show.
Kevin, thank you for creating such an outstanding newsletter. I have several daffodils coming up under a tree that I'd like to move. Only the leaves are currently up; can I move them now, or should I wait until after they start flowering? Alternatively, should I wait until after they have passed and their foliage has withered? Dan — nice to meet you. If you move your daffodils now, the bulbs will shut themselves down. This will result in no blooms next year.
The best plan is to wait until the foliage withers, for this signals dormancy. Then you can safely dig and transplant the bulbs. They should bloom for you without a hitch next year especially if you feed them now, while the foliage is growing. Laurie with he naughty goats here again! What should I feed my daffodils with? We have a farm and lots of manure available goats ARE good for something! Laurie with the naughty but loveable, I am sure goats — do not use manure for bulbs.
It's too high in nitrogen. To be safe, use a commercial mix which is high in phosphorous. Espoma makes a granular mix that is intended for bulbs. You are lucky to have goats. Their composted manure is best reserved ideal for vegetable and ornamental beds.
After my blooms have wilted is it safe for the bulbs if I let my goat eat the green that's left over? Tiffany — welcome. If you let your goat eat the green leaves, you will definitely not have daffodils next year.
Bulbs use the leaves to store food, and also to make the embryo flower for next year. I have daffodils planted in three different locations. Usually they all flower, but this year, not one produced a flower. All received enough water and sun, two lots were regularly fertilized, but not one bloom.
For us in Perth, Australia, it's been a cooler and wetter spring than usual, but in no way boggy wet, for this time of year, but apart from that I have no clue as to what went wrong? My Fressias, however, in two of the same areas, flowered prolifically. If the bulbs are several years old, it might be time to divide them.
The dividing-directions are outlined above. Otherwise, my guess is that your daffodils received too much nitrogen. Feed them now with a low-nitrogen, high-phosphorous food. This will encourage embryo flowers to form within the bulbs. I have a few tulips too,but there used to be more. I just found out that after they die off this season, I just break up the bulbs and spread, and that should help them come back.
This has got to be one of the most common springtime questions we get asked at my nursery, and you have created a wonderful, concise explanation for it. I now no longer have to send people to 3 or 4 different sites with half-explanations. Thank you thank you thank you! Joelle — It helps to plant tulips where they can be dry during the summer.
I have mine on steep slopes throughout the property. The only summertime moisture they receive is from rainfall — and on a slope this water drains very well. These tulips have returned spring after spring for me, and some are going on 10 years! Mine are buried under our current building project I kind of doubt that the daffodils under the dumpster will show up…. I hope they survive.
I miss them…. Give them food, water and sun, and be sure to let the foliage wither naturally. Then you can store the bulbs some place dry, dark and cool over summer. In autumn the bulbs can be planted out again, but this time, not under a dumpster! None of mine have bloomed booo. The tulips in the same planter are doing amazing, Hmmmm. I may have overcrowded them. I am going to try giving them some more room and try some fertilizer. I realized that I have the too much shade problem.
I switched to all miniature daffodils instead. Tara — I love miniature daffs, too. So reliable. And like small flowering houseplants, they tend to do okay with less sun. Thank you, thank you, Thank you. Hi Kevin, great tips there!! I have a border of daffodils which are planted below the kiwi vines in my garden and they usually flower great south of France , except for some clumps, which seemed to have gone out of sync — their leaves start appearing in November, and they have not flowered for a couple of years.
I dug up one clump, which consisted of a fair number of smaller bulbs, and re-planted them elsewhere, but no joy.
This year we had an exceptionally dry spring, and flowers came up early, on shorter stems and wilted pretty quickly. Love your blog! Andreas P. My daffodils are a delight this year. We did have a heat wave, 3 or 4 days in the 80s. May I follow the above directions for daffs?
My daffodils bloomed better this year than last, BUT some of them are strange! They looked like little miniature flowers. Do you have any idea why they would do this? Or should it stay on for nourshment for next years bloom like the leaves?
Despina — That made me chuckle — I guess daffodils without flowers do resemble scallions somewhat! Andreas — Bone meal is a good choice for bulbs, because of its high phosphorous content. I peaked at your gorgeous blog — it makes me want to visit France again!
Joetta — We had a weird March heatwave here, too. Rachel — Thank you for the kind words. However, never scatter fertilizer directly over the rhizomes.
Instead, spread it around them, or dig it into the soil beneath when dividing. Make sure the top half of each rhizome is above ground. Too-deep planting will mean no flowers. Judy — Based on my own experience, shrinking stem- and flower-size is an indication that division is in order. Joy — You can cut off the seed pod along with the faded flowering stalk. Only the leaves are needed for photosynthesis the conversion of sunlight into sugar. Debbie — So glad you found this article useful.
I once planted dozens of daffs beneath a huge, sweeping, year-old arborvitae. How gorgeous the flowers were their first spring! Of course there were no blooms at all the following year, as the location was too shady.
Daffodils are prima donnas when it comes to sunlight! As always, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, Kevin. Your advice is always so down to earth and inspiring that I am putting on my gardening clogs as I type this. Who is the bodacious beauty in the third picture? I have never seen a frilly daff before and would love to track some down. My favorite bulb purveyor is John Scheepers. Happy digging! Mine have been delightful, though they are done blooming right now.
As if on cue, my tulips have taken their place. I love my bulbs! Would the same reasoning apply to non-blooming iris. Have beautiful foliage but no flowers. Live in SW Mississippi and needless to say we have extreme heat, sometime well over How will this affect my iris blooming? Have close to 50 blubs and have seen only 3 flowers in several yrs.
Carole — Iris rhizomes, like Narcissus bulbs, need full sun and division every years. Also — make sure the top half of your rhizomes are completely exposed.
Covered rhizomes will not bloom. Hi Iplanted daffodil bulbs 2 years ago, along a border and in a few groups, none of he border ever appeared last year, if i planted too deep will they ever come up or will i haveto go bac and redigthem up, the ones in groups came up last yr but didnt flower, i will fertilise themnow.
Hi Eleanor — Were the bulbs in your border of the same variety you planted elsewhere in groups? If so, they should have at least sent up top growth. If they are still plump and firm, they ought to grow.
If they are mushy, they are goners. Have been lurking about here for a year. I have a bed, that gets mostly intense afternoon sun, that is filled with daffodils, tulips and hyacinth. I have recently added some gerbera daisies and a few other flowers that survive NC winters. My daffodils have been getting worse every year and this year I had ONE bloom. I always plant annuals over top of the bed of bulbs after the foliage fades naturally.
I do use Osmocote for the annuals and I water frequently in our high heat summers. Could the acidic pine trees nearby be a problem? But I thought I did that when I planted some new ones and still got nothing but green. Lisa — Nice to meet you. When I bought my first house in Oklahoma, I got a pleasant surprise in spring: a large clump of daffodils that had been growing and reproducing for who knows how long.
Like many spring-flowering bulbs, daffodils need weeks upon weeks of chill time in order to bloom. And in order to properly bloom, daffodils need 13 to 15 weeks of chill time. First, carefully dig up a bulb or two. If you notice yellowish shoots at the tip of the bulb, leave it in its place and replace the soil — the daffodils are on their way and are just taking their time. Fill containers that are six inches in diameter and that have drainage holes with fresh potting mix. Place three to five bulbs inside each pot, on the top of the potting soil, so that the bulb tips are just below the rim of the pot.
Water each container slowly until liquid drains out the bottom. It could be a cellar, a basement, or even a refrigerator. If you do keep the containers in a refrigerator, fold a dish towel and place it over each container, leaving gaps on each side for air. Daffodils require darkness in order to chill properly. Once a week, water the soil around the bulbs in each container slowly and deeply until water runs out the bottom of the container. Keep the containers in that cool place for 13 to 15 weeks, unless you believe they have had some chill time before.
Perhaps, for example, they got a nice cold snap for four weeks in the winter. You could then try chilling them for just nine to 10 weeks, or until you see yellow shoots begin to emerge from the tips of the bulbs.
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