Over the years I have planted thousands and thousands of daffodil bulbs (Narcissus). Here are some daffodil planting and growing tips you may find helpful. Also see How to Plant Daffodils for the basics on planting and purchasing the bulbs, and Daffodil Care for information about maintaining your daffodils over the years to come.
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Individual daffodil or narcissus bulbs are usually planted about six inches apart. This spacing allows room for the bulbs to increase over time so they can stay in place for many years. You can plant them wider apart but it will take longer to achieve a full look. Planting closer means you will have to divide them sooner.
A clustered group of bulbs creates more visual impact than a single bulb. For example, plant three bulbs in an equilateral triangle. Or for five bulbs, set four in a square with a fifth bulb in the center, or two in front and a line of three in the rear.
If you would prefer a row of daffodils, plant them in a bed twelve inches wide with two or three bulbs staggered across the width of the bed. This results in a full look rather than a single straggly line of daffodil soldiers. Eventually the daffodils will spread to fill in the entire bed.
Naturalized plantings look like nature planted the bulbs instead of the gardener. A successful naturalized planting will increase itself over time with seedlings popping up next to the bulbs you planted. To naturalize daffodil bulbs, the goal is to make them look a bit random, so plant the bulbs in an irregularly spaced group of five or more. Some can be a bit closer than six inches, some a bit further.
The overall shape of your naturalized planting should be an informal one, an organic or irregular outline rather than a square or rectangle or perfect circle. You may find that tree roots, patterns of sun and shade, and other obstacles direct some of your bulb placement.
Using just one variety of daffodil per planting makes it look more natural when they bloom, and also assures they all bloom at the same time.
You can dig a separate hole for each bulb, or you can dig a trench and plant several bulbs at once. You can also plant the bulbs in a prepared flower bed. For an extended row of daffodils, you can till up a strip of ground and plant the bulbs there.
When planting in a flower bed, keep in mind that the bulbs are renewed each year by allowing the foliage to grow and mature. The maturation process can be a bit ugly as the leaves turn yellow and die back. You may want to plant your daffodils to the rear of the flower bed where they can remain undisturbed and their foliage can be hidden behind your other flowers. Peonies and daylilies (Hemerocallis) are often used as companion plants in front of daffodils for this reason.
I like to see daffodils planted in shrub beds where they can bloom, grow their foliage, and die back without causing too much disruption to the overall look of the garden.
Another location I like is along the edge of an informal wooded area where they will receive at least a half a day of sun. The flowers will turn toward the sun when they bloom, so keep that in mind when you decide where to plant them.
If you plant or naturalize daffodils in a grassy area or lawn, you must not mow the lawn until the daffodil foliage begins to die down. By that time, your lawn will look like a hay field. We’ve all seen lovely photos of charming daffodil displays in green spring grass under say, apple trees in full bloom, but this is really not a good idea to try at home. If you have an orchard where you can leave the grass shaggy and unmowed until mid June, then go for it!
After planting, apply several inches of organic mulch over the bulb area. This will help prevent weeds from growing this fall and early next spring. The mulch will also break down slowly over time and help feed the soil – and your bulbs.
For more information on planting and growing daffodils, see:
All Flower Garden Articles and Blogs So Far
Copyright October 28 2006 Barbara Martin All Rights Reserved
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