EDNA’S GARDEN: PLANTING A SEA OF GOLD
Planting with abandon, two hundred fifty daffodil bulbs! Late fall is the perfect time to prepare your garden for spring!
This past weekend I got to fulfill one of my many garden fantasies; I was able to create various daffodil display areas throughout my yard. Yes, I planted with abandon, two hundred fifty daffodil bulbs and yes, it was the highlight of my weekend. No flower is more associated with spring than the daffodil. It’s bright elegance and soothing simplicity is a welcome reminder of springtime. I refer to Daffodils (Narcissus) scattered across the landscape as impressionistic points of color. And I can’t wait until spring when they’re on full dynamic display.
I would love nothing more than to share with you a few things that I’ve learned about these awesome flowers. First of all, daffodils are hardy and easy perennials to grow in most regions of North America, except Southern Florida. Even though daffodils are a fall-planted bulb and should be planted in autumn, I’ve planted them as late as mid-November. Only because the season was kind enough to give me a few extra days of warmer than usual weather. Daffodils are lovely peeking up through ground covers and can give a perennial bed spring color before the perennials start to grow. They are suitable for planting between shrubs or in a border, or for forcing blooms indoors. They also look wonderful in a woodland garden and in large groves. The traditional daffodil flower may be a showy yellow or white, with six petals and a trumpet-shape central corona, but many variations exists today. Leafless stems bear between 1 and 20 flowers; sometimes the flowers need to be staked so that they don’t weigh down the stems.
Garden chair with basket of daffodil bulbs.
Two important pluses to planting daffodil bulbs: deer and squirrels don’t like them, and many varieties naturalize when happy. A bulb that naturalizes is a bulb that returns and multiplies every year. Like interest on a bank account, bulb dividends will spread informally through your garden, paying you back in flowers for years to come.
After planting, work a few inches of compost into the soil then apply fertilizer low in nitrogen, such as a 9-6-6 formulation. If your soil is sandy, plant bulbs slightly deeper; in clay soils, slightly shallower.
Here’s how to plant daffodil bulbs and grow daffodil flowers in your garden!
- Plant daffodil bulbs in the fall—about 2 to 4 weeks before the ground freezes, September – October. I usually plant my bulbs Halloween weekend.
- Select a site that offers full sun or partial shade (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight). Any sunny area you don’t have to mow will do well. They do not do well under evergreens.
- Select high-quality daffodil bulbs that have not dried out. The larger the bulb, the better.
- Plant bulbs 1-½ to 5 times their own depth. Where winters are severe, make sure there are at least 3 inches of soil covering the bulb.
- Daffodils will tolerate some crowding, but they prefer to be spaced 3 to 6 inches apart.
- Plant the bulb pointed end up. If you don’t see a pointy side, look for where the roots come out – that end goes down.
- Like most plants, bulbs appreciate well-drained soil rich in organic matter. After planting, work a few inches of compost into the soil then apply fertilizer low in nitrogen, such as a 9-6-6 formulation. If your soil is sandy, plant bulbs slightly deeper; in clay soils, slightly shallower. Many of the popular species prefer neutral to acidic soils, but some prefer slightly alkaline soils, so consult your local nursery to see which is best for your daffodil variety.
- Resist the temptation to uncover spring-flowering plants such as daffodils and tulips. You can loosen mulch, but the shoots will still benefit from protection against cold, drying winds.
- For a dramatic show of spring-flowering bulbs, plant smaller perennial species such as crocus or scilla over bigger bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, and lilies. That way you’ll get twice the color in the same space.
- Most bulbs do just as well in containers as they do in the ground. Create pots of spring joy with your favorite tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths by sinking them in the ground so they get winter cold or storing the containers in a cold garage or storage shed. When the bulbs fade replace them with warm-weather favorites such as callas, cannas, or caladiums for summer-long beauty.
- Critters such as squirrels love digging up freshly planted bulbs. Spread a layer of mulch to hide your bulb holes. If that doesn’t help, weight down a piece of mesh or chicken wire over the soil to keep critters from digging. You can always remove the protective mesh or wire after the bulbs start to sprout in early spring.
Most importantly, don’t forget to plant extra for cutting so you can bring some of that spring color indoors!
Happy planting Butterflies!
Edna
