domesticdiva
Full Member
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat May 16, 2009 10:54 am
Location: Eastern NC

Need an answer quick! Daffodil bulbs!

Okay so my monkey grass had gotten out of control (imagine that) and pretty much devoured my daffodil bulbs. They havnt bloomed the last 2 springs but there is foliage. I just assumed it was because of the monkey grass.
Anyways, I dug up my monkey grass and was able to save my daffodil bulbs. Now what? The spot I want to move them too isnt quite ready yet.
Can I leave the bulbs out of the ground? should I just plant them in a pot until I figure out where I want to move them?
Also, some of the bulbs foliage was chopped off by my shovel. Will they be okay?

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hendi_alex
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Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

It is almost impossible to kill daffodils. I've dug them up and tossed them aside in the spring and only put them back in the ground many weeks later. They may not bloom the next season, but if the bulb stays firm, it will likely survive transplanting.

I've heard this and from experience, believe it to be the case. Over time daffodil bulbs tend to settle deeper in the ground. Once the bulbs get beyond a certain depth, they will quit flowering. So when replanting, don't set the bulbs deeper than a couple of inches. Also, tossing out some bulb enhancing fertilizer like triple super phosphate, espoma Bulb-tone, bone meal, or other bulb specialty fertilizer would provide adequate nutrients. Finally, daffodils will fail to bloom in some locations, if the light is too low, the soil is to dry, and/or competition with the grass or other tightly growing plants are excessive. My plants have gone for years, just growing weak tops, but when I finally got around to digging and resetting them in a more favorable site, they once again begin to bloom in a year or so.

One final note. In order to bloom year after year, the tops of the daffodils must be allowed to stay green for several weeks after the bloom. They are storing the energy for next year's bloom during that period. So if planted in a lawn area or lawn edge, make sure that the tops do not get cut while they are still green.,

domesticdiva
Full Member
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat May 16, 2009 10:54 am
Location: Eastern NC

Thanks so much! Thats interesting about daffodils settling deeper....I had to dig really deep to find those suckers! I planted them myself about 5 years ago and I don't remember planting them THAT deep! Then again...I may have little knowledge of gardening now but had even less then... I'm learning though! I hope they bloom again!



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